The two of them stared at each other for a long time, neither of them showing any sign of weakness. Seeing this, Yan Xuanye sighed softly, "Well, I can only wait until I finish this matter before I can crave Qianqian's love."
"Don't worry Qianqian, I will do it as soon as possible and won't keep you waiting for long."
Su Qian: “…”
She clearly didn't mean that.
Su Qian sat at the dining table and asked Cuiwei and the others to come in and serve the dishes. She said to Yan Xuanye, "Eat first and then go investigate the case."
Yan Xuanye resumed his playful and smiling appearance, stood up and sat down next to her, "I knew Qianqian was worried about me."
…
In the old and dilapidated courtyard, the ground and walls were covered with moss and weeds. Various ornaments were piled together in a disorderly manner in the house, which showed its dilapidated state. The owner of the house probably had not lived here for a long time.
In such a house, there were two corpses with strange causes of death. The two corpses were stacked on top of each other like Jenga, which was obviously the result of murder.
The bailiffs and the coroner had already arrived and examined the bodies. "The cause of death for both victims was the same. There was only one wound on each body. It was a narrow oval wound, not large, but very deep. Judging from the external injuries, the murder weapon was a short knife."
"The murderer used this dagger to stab the victim's heart. The murderer seemed very skilled at this technique. The victim did not die from excessive blood loss, but died on the spot."
"The only difference is that the wounds of this deceased were found with a few small pieces of bronze mirror fragments, while the wounds of the other deceased were found without any."
Yan Xuanye frowned, "Fragments of a bronze mirror?"
The coroner said, "Yes, it looks like fragments of a broken mirror."
"The victim with the bronze mirror fragment in his wound died about half an hour earlier. It is believed that the murderer first stabbed the victim with a dagger or something like glass fragments, then killed the first victim, and then killed the second victim half an hour later."
Fu Ge: "It took half an hour before the second person was killed. This shows that the murderer did not commit the crime randomly, but had premeditation."
March asked doubtfully, "Could it be that the murderer knew these two and had a grudge against them, so he wanted to take revenge on them?"
Several people were discussing with each other and did not notice that Yan Xuanye's expression was becoming increasingly serious. Yan Xuanye thought about what Su Qian said about the broken mirror, and connected it to the two murders, and he felt really worried.
He quietly called over a secret guard, "Banai, take a group of highly skilled secret guards back to the mansion to secretly protect the lady. Don't alert the enemy, and don't let anyone know of your presence."
"Pay special attention to suspicious individuals. Send someone to report back to me every half hour. If you find anything amiss, take immediate action."
"Remember! You must protect the lady's safety!"
Banai nodded heavily: "I obey your command."
After Banai left, Yan Xuanye went back to listen to Machi and the others' discussion.
Yan Xuanye: "First, check the identities of these two people to see if they know each other. If they do, then investigate further to see if they have any common enemies."
As Yan Xuanye was speaking, Ge Bulu also rushed over with a few people. There was a hint of anxiety between his eyebrows. "Something happened to Qiaogelu too. This time, it's a family of three who died."
Yan Xuanye was silent for a moment, "Let's go and take a look."
…
On Qiaoge Road, in a small house with one entrance, the moonlight shines through the clouds into the house, creating an inexplicably eerie atmosphere.
The man who was the head of the family and died the most tragically had empty eyes, like a dark abyss, without emotion or vitality.
His dry and stiff hands were clasped tightly against his chest. There were cut marks on the palms of his hands, which must have been caused by him holding the blade with his hands and then being cut.
He must have had a game of chess with the murderer before his death, but was eventually killed by a knife through the heart. He seemed to have experienced great pain before his death, and even died with his eyes open.
His wife and children died peacefully, without showing any signs of pain.
Ma Qi said angrily, "What kind of hatred or grudge is this? They even want to kill someone else's wife and children. This is too cruel."
Yan Xuanye watched quietly for a while and felt a little strange.
It has been quite some time since they captured Zhiyi City. Why was there nothing wrong before, but something happened today?
There are more than one or two murders, and the locations and times have no connection. The murderer came so far to commit the crime, he must know them.
"Should we ask the neighbors to come over and ask them questions?"
Yan Xuanye shook his head: "No need. It's too late to go to the neighbors to identify him. I'm afraid of scaring them and making them unable to sleep."
"Mudge."
"First, ask the county magistrate and the chief clerk to bring the household registration books over and check their personal information. They are the officials of Zhiyi City after all, so it would be inappropriate for them to be away at this time."
"Let's ask the coroner to perform the autopsy. I see the wounds on his body are the same as those of the two previous people."
Machi nodded: "Yes."
Yan Xuanye and others found an empty house to rest for a while. Not long after, the county magistrate and the chief clerk came with the household registration books of the people in Zhiyi City.
Seeing the stern Yan Xuanye, the county magistrate and the chief clerk couldn't help but look a little nervous. "Greetings to His Royal Highness the Prince of Yan. Here are the household registration books for the people of Zhiyi City."
"I've already checked the families of the victims. The man with the bronze mirror fragments in his wound was named Zhao Guang, 29 years old. He was not a regular worker and often made a living by gambling and robbery. Since he hadn't married yet, he often visited prostitutes and abused decent women."
Yan Xuanye glared at him coldly, "Since he has so many stains, why not put him in jail?"
The county magistrate hesitated, "This...this."
Yan Xuanye knew from the look on his face that he must have accepted a lot of benefits from this man and protected Zhao Guang.
Yan Xuanye sneered: "Where are the others? Keep talking."
"The other man, Liu Cheng, had a similar temperament to Zhao Guang. They knew each other well and often invited each other to drink and gamble together. When they ran out of money, they would rob people on the street."
"There's just one difference. Liu Cheng once joined the army and spent two years there. Then, for some reason, he seemed to have committed a crime and was kicked out. After Liu Cheng was released, he started hanging out with Zhao Guang, and the two of them got along very well."
Yan Xuanye: "Joined the army? But under Lu Huan's command?"
The county magistrate thought for a moment and continued, "It seems that after Liu Cheng was driven out, he was later disciplined by General Lu Huan under military law for insulting Lu Huan and his biological mother."
"Later, Zhao Guang became friends with Liu Cheng. Hearing about Liu Cheng being expelled from the army and subjected to military court by Lu Huan, he often got drunk and insulted Lu Huan and his biological mother. Seeing this, Liu Cheng began to regard him as an even closer friend."
The county magistrate briefly described the life and experiences of the three people. Yan Xuanye lowered his eyes, but his expression became more gloomy.
These three people had offended Lu Huan to some extent, and had also offended Lu Huan's mother who died young.
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