Chapter 888 Shi Mansion
Of course, Shi Rong's concubine was just an ordinary girl from a small family. Chen Lian announced to the public that the girl had died of illness, and no one doubted it.
The person who knew the most about this matter besides Chen Lian was the old lady who was in charge of the trivial matters in the rear house at that time.
But compared to the old lady, her hatred for Chen Lian should be deeper.
Shi Yangui asked someone to pick up Chen Lian, while Su Yan and others stayed to continue looking for evidence.
The oil lamp was half burned out, and apart from the burnt things, all they found were some "stones".
The stone is dark red and has an uneven surface.
Shi Pei recognized the item. "This is cinnabar, which my father brought back from Lingnan. My father likes strange rocks, and he also carved the jade pendants for several of us."
Su Yan wrapped the cinnabar with a handkerchief, "Cinnabar can burn out mercury when exposed to high temperatures."
Liang Yi asked: "Is it the poison that killed the old lady?"
Su Yan nodded.
Liang Yi said: "It seems that the murderer is this person. Do you really have no impression of her?"
Shi Yangui stared at Zhu Sha in silence.
"But the door was locked. How did she get away? Where is she now?"
Su Yan put down the cinnabar and looked at the ground.
The courtyard has a second floor, and they have been searching on the first floor.
The walls and the floor were solid, with no escape route.
What about the second floor?
The stairs leading to the second floor are outside the building, and to reach the rooms on the second floor you have to leave first and then take the wooden stairs.
Su Yan raised the candle and observed the roof.
The others didn't understand, but they all followed Su Yan's example, holding up candles or lanterns and following Su Yan to the wall.
It's unrealistic to fly up with bare hands, but if you use the wall or windowsill, you may still have a chance.
Su Yan walked along the wall.
After passing the haystack, you can see a tattered screen that no longer looks like its original self.
Behind the screen, there is a long and narrow open space.
Liang Yi asked: "Could it be that she opened a hole on the top of her head?"
Su Yan stared at the screen and said, "Look."
Liang Yi held the lantern and approached the screen.
The screen frame was originally made of mahogany, but because it had been placed in this dirty and dark place for many years, everything you could see was black.
A dark room, a dirty screen, and messy weeds in front of the screen.
As soon as the window was opened, a chilly wind blew in. Liang Yi kept hiding behind Su Yan, "Is there someone behind the screen?"
Shi Pei: “…”
It turns out that the little prince is only occasionally reliable.
Shi Yangui asked, "What's wrong?"
"Ordinary people wouldn't put the screen here. It's only one meter away from the wall, and the sleeping area is in front of it."
"Indeed not, but maybe she just wants to sleep more comfortably, and it might be cold against the wall."
Su Yan said, "That's it. The people who imprisoned her would not enter the house. The food was placed at the door. She must have moved it herself. I think there must be other reasons."
Shi Pei was extremely confused.
Frankly speaking, he had thought before that if something happened to his second brother's family, his position in the Shi Mansion would be more secure.
But he also understood that the reason he was in the court today was because he had a general who was capable of winning battles behind him.
Su Yan used the word "imprisonment". What does imprisonment mean? Is the word too serious?
If it gets out...
Shi Pei didn't dare to imagine the consequences.
But when Shi Yan Gui came back, he didn't react to Su Yan's words.
Chen Lian is Shi Yangui's mother. He has always respected her and almost obeyed her every word.
Now there was not even a hint of doubt about Su Yan's guess.
Is Shi Yangui not right, or...
Shi Pei looked at Su Yan.
His appearance was striking, but after all, he was just a small coroner, someone the common people were afraid of.
Shi Pei shook his head helplessly.
Su Yan walked around the screen and saw some traces on the windowsill and walls.
There was plaster, but not footprints.
Liang Yi said: "There are no shoe prints either."
Su Yan asked: "Is she wearing shoes?"
Liang Yi was stunned, "Ah?!"
How can someone not wear shoes?!
If I were locked up here for more than ten years, maybe it would be possible.
Liang Yi looked at Shi Pei, "When I came to the mansion before, I didn't feel it was so...creepy."
Su Yan wanted to climb onto the windowsill, but Shi Yangui pulled him down, "I'll do it."
He was agile and it was easier for him than Su Yan.
The first floor is not high, and you can climb up using the windowsill and beams, but it requires physical strength and arm strength.
The roof was flat, and as soon as Shi Yangui went up there he saw signs of decay.
“It has been corrupted.”
He pushed upwards gently, and the wooden board that seemed to fit together perfectly was magically pushed open. Looking underneath the board, he saw an extra wooden stick of a brighter color, which fitted perfectly under the original structure.
The stick has scratches on both ends so it can be moved back and forth.
If the wooden board is turned over, it can accommodate a small person to leave.
The traces left at the scene showed that the woman left from here.
Given Shi Yangui’s size, he needed to push the wooden stick to the farthest point before he could climb up.
After he went upstairs, he confirmed that there was no one on the second floor before looking at Su Yan.
Su Yan said: "I'll try."
She would have to try it to know if it would work.
Although Su Yan was not as skilled as Shi Yangui, he was forced by Su Mao to practice for several years, so it was still a bit difficult for him to climb up.
As for Yu Xian, she couldn't climb up at all.
Liang Yi and his companions climbed up to the second floor one after another, and their clothes got dirty.
"This woman is really amazing. She should be quite old now. She has been locked up for so long, but her skills are so good? She needs arm strength to support herself and come up."
Su Yan was also frightened. "Looking at what she eats, if she wants to ensure that she can climb up, she will probably have to practice hard."
"How could there be such a cruel person? Even if she made a mistake, you can't treat her like this!"
After Liang Yi finished speaking, he thought that the person who did this was probably Chen Lian, so he quickly stood behind Su Yan and asked, "Don't you think so?"
Su Yan nodded and looked at Shi Yangui: "General, he scolded your mother."
Liang Yi: “…”
We can’t be good brothers anymore!
The second floor is relatively clean.
The bed, round table and dressing table were not removed. There was a quilt on the bed, which was neatly folded.
The windows on the second floor are also sealed, but not as tightly as those on the first floor, and light can pass through the dressing mirror.
Through the window, you can see the situation of the entire courtyard.
Su Yan looked at it for a while, then suddenly realized, "She has been living on the second floor."
Although she was locked up here, neither human nor ghost, she still tried her best to create living conditions for herself.
Try to live a better life.
Shi Yangui had already walked around once, "The board here is loose, we can climb out."
The wooden board was nailed outside the window. After the woman left, she put the board back in its original place so it could not be seen from the outside.
Climbing out of the window is a long corridor on the second floor, which leads to the stairs.
It is much easier to leave the yard. The wall is not high and you can just find a place with trees or stones to leave.
but……
Su Yan looked at the board carefully, "It doesn't look like it was taken down recently."
Liang Yi squatted and watched, "What do you mean?"
Shi Yangui said: "What she meant was that the person who was imprisoned could have left the yard long ago, but she did not ask for help, nor did she leave."
"She knows she can't run away?" Liang Yi said, "Even if she gets out, no one will listen to her."
That's one reason.
Who in the Shi Mansion dares to offend Chen Lian now?
Su Yan said: "We still have to wait for the second lady to come over and ask, we can't make a final conclusion."
At this moment, a servant hurried into the yard and shouted in panic towards the second floor: "General, it's bad, it's bad, my wife..."
Shi Yangui looked at Su Yan first, then asked, "Was he murdered?"
Liang Yi looked over in horror.
Such ordinary three words, but this is his mother.
Shi Yangui seemed to sense something was wrong and said, "I'll explain it later."
The servant said, "Something happened, but it wasn't the Second Madam, it was the First Madam!"
Su Yan was surprised and asked: "Fang Niao?"
"Yes, go and have a look, do you want to find a doctor?!"
*
After Shi Zheng left, Fang Niao and Shi Yanqing, mother and son, were in a bad situation.
In fact, Shi Pei has a pretty good temper and will never treat them badly no matter what.
Although the old lady was a bit strict, apart from Shi Lin, she loved her eldest son the most. It was Shi Zheng who earned the family fortune for the Shi family.
But Shi Zheng was once a high-ranking official with great power and a noble title. They should have been the most honorable people in the mansion. Now they are orphans and widows, and their status is lower than that of everyone else. How can they accept this?
Of course you have to find a doctor, but finding one takes time.
During this day and night, first the old lady passed away, then Nanny Wu attempted suicide, and now it was Fang Niao's turn.
Su Yan ran to Fang Niao's yard, which was in complete chaos.
Shi Yanqing's crying could be heard in the yard, and Su Yan frowned.
She ran into the room where the crying sound came from. Shi Yanqing was kneeling on the ground and Fang Niao was lying on the bed with a bright red knife mark on her neck.
The brocade quilt was stained with blood, which was dyed with Fang Niao's blood.
Su Yan noticed that there was some silvery-white mercury on the ground.
Su Yan immediately asked someone to collect them and then tried to stop the bleeding for Fang Niao.
The wound is too deep, and judging by the amount of blood, I'm afraid it's too late.
Shi Yanqing's crying made Su Yan upset.
Even though she was used to controlling her emotions, she couldn't help but scold at this moment: "You just know how to cry, don't you know how to save people?"
Don’t you know how to stop the bleeding?
Even if you can't save him, you can't just kneel down and cry, right? !
Su Yan signaled Liang Yi to find a bandage to try to stop her bleeding.
But she arrived too late. Shi Yanqing had to watch Fang Niao bleed profusely. How could the bleeding be stopped?
Fang Niao didn't say a word, and his pupils gradually dilated.
Su Yan continued to provide rescue until the doctor arrived.
She was covered in Fang Niao's blood and had tried to perform CPR on her, but now she was too exhausted to do it.
Su Yan stepped back, his mind a little confused.
She doesn't like the people in the Shi Mansion, including Shi Yangui.
But it's one thing to dislike them, and another to watch them leave.
Shi Yangui supported Su Yan and said softly, "You are tired, go and rest."
Su Yan shook his head and took a step forward, not wanting to get too close to Shi Yan Gui.
Shi Yangui was confused at first, then seemed to have thought of something. He was not too sad, but smiled helplessly.
Su Yan had no time to change clothes or wash her hands. She walked up to Shi Yanqing and asked, "What happened?"
When Shi Yanqing saw the blood on Su Yan's body, he trembled all over. He knew that it was all Fang Niao's blood.
Shi Yanqing knelt in front of Su Yan and cried, "I, I don't know what to do. I'm afraid that my mother will leave, mother..."
Su Yan looked at Fang Niao lying on the bed.
She is already quite old, but having lived a life of luxury over the years, her skin is still delicate and she can still see the grace of her youth.
At this moment, her eyes were slightly open, her arms hung weakly, and she had already died.
The doctor stood aside and trembled, afraid that he would be implicated in the disaster.
Shi Pei had the doctor taken away, and then said to Shi Yanqing: "Yanqing, you are no longer a child. You should know what to do. Even if you can't save her, you should cooperate with the government to find the murderer who killed your mother."
He asked someone to help Shi Yanqing up and forced him to wipe away his tears.
Normally, Shi Yanqing was the most disobedient to Shi Pei, but now he is obedient.
Shi Yanqing said, "I had already gone to bed, but then I heard a strange noise, as if there was a sound on the roof. My grandmother had just been murdered, and I was not sleeping well. I was a little scared, so I didn't dare to go back to sleep. Later, the noise stopped, but I thought that my mother was resting alone, and I was worried that something might have happened to her, so I wanted to go over to check. I didn't expect to hear my mother screaming as soon as I walked to the door. She was already like this when I came in."
"Did you see who it was?"
Shi Yanqing said: "There was no oil lamp, I only saw a black shadow leaving through the window."
Shi Pei asked: "Captain Yan didn't send anyone to protect you?"
Yan Zhengcai arrived and knelt down in panic after hearing what he said. "They sent someone, they definitely sent someone, but I don't know why..."
"Didn't you see anyone leave?"
“No one really saw this.”
Su Yan said: "Captain Yan, please draw a picture to show the positions of the detectives."
Yan Zheng nodded quickly, "Okay, I'll go right away."
Su Yan asked Shi Yanqing again, "Was the stove there when you came?"
There was a copper stove on the ground for heating, and the unburned mercury was in it.
Shi Yanqing asked in confusion: "I did notice the fire when I entered the room, but it was not big, so I didn't have time to take care of it."
Su Yan said: "The murderer originally wanted to kill the lady in the same way, but after hearing your footsteps, he had to change his tactics."
She walked to the bed and picked up the bloody dagger. "Whose is this?"
Shi Yanqing: "...It's my mother's."
"That's right. They changed their killing method temporarily, and they did it on the roof."
The house in this yard has only one floor.
Su Yan said: "What I wonder is, why did the murderer kill the first lady?"
If it was someone who was imprisoned by Chen Lian, shouldn't the person he hated be Chen Lian?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
