Chapter 129 Preview
Outside Chang'an, by the Huangqu River, willow trees that had just sprouted were burnt black, with a half-collapsed pavilion in the middle. Half of the pavilion was blown up, and the remaining half was smoked beyond recognition. Only through the residual heat could one glimpse the originally exquisite and brilliant sun and moon patterns underneath.
A group of people gathered by the water, pointing and talking at the pavilion. The blue-robed yamen runners kept shooing them away: "Get out of the way, don't delay the government's investigation."
A group of young men and women walked freely through the blockade, and the young ones looked out of place among the officers around them. Jiang Ling rummaged around on the ground for a long time and couldn't help asking, "What are we looking for?"
"Anything is fine." Ming Huazhang's voice came from afar. He half-crouched in the ruins, carefully moving the rubble, and said without looking up, "Bring back anything you think shouldn't be here."
The yamen runner saw Ming Huazhang flipping directly at the center of the explosion, and his heart was pounding. He said, "Shao Yin, there may be some remaining gunpowder here. Please come out quickly and leave these to me..."
Ming Huazhang ignored the bailiff. He raised his hand and carefully examined the thing at his fingertips.
This is a piece of unburned cloth scrap, and its original red and yellow square chess pattern can be vaguely seen. But why is there cloth in an ownerless pavilion?
Ming Huazhang was thinking when a familiar girl's voice suddenly came from outside: "Second brother, come and look, what is this?"
Ming Huazhang signaled the guards to put away the evidence, then stood up, took off his gloves and walked quickly towards Ming Huashang: "What's wrong?"
Ming Huashang squatted under the tree, pointed at a black fragment and asked, "Brother, do you think this looks like porcelain?"
Ming Huazhang leaned over, covered Ming Huashang's head, and carefully picked up the thing. Jiang Ling, Ren Yao and others heard the noise and hurried over: "What's wrong?"
Ming Huazhang looked at it for a long time, then waved his hand behind him, "Bring the evidence bag. You are right. This should have been a porcelain bowl. After it was shattered by the fire, one of the pieces splashed here."
"Porcelain cup?" Jiang Ling raised his eyebrows. Although he was ignorant of the sufferings of the world, he knew that porcelain would not be placed in a roadside pavilion. He asked, "Is this left by the murderer?"
"Not sure." Ming Huazhang wiped his hands, pulled Ming Huashang up from the ground, and said, "But what is certain is that there is more than one dead person in the pavilion today. I found unburned cloth scraps in the wreckage of the pavilion, and Shanggshang found porcelain cup fragments, which further confirmed my guess. There was a tablecloth on the stone table and a teacup. It is impossible that the dead person happened to go to the pavilion outside the city to relax and happened to run into the explosion? There is only one explanation, that is, he made an appointment with someone to meet here, he was waiting for someone, and he may have even waited for that person."
Ren Yao asked: "Who is he waiting for?"
"It depends on who the deceased is." Ming Huazhang raised his eyes and looked at the young man in green clothes who was walking towards them slowly in the sunlight. "Just when we were looking for him, here he is."
Xie Jichuan rolled up his sleeves and walked at a leisurely pace. Even in the chaotic explosion scene, he was still as graceful as if he was walking at a banquet. Jiang Ling waited for a while, but couldn't bear it anymore: "No one is watching you, can you walk faster?"
Xie Jichuan glanced at Jiang Ling coldly, and felt that one should not talk about ice to a summer insect, nor should one play the lute to a cow. He shook off his sleeves, and walked the remaining steps gracefully, and said leisurely, "What's the matter?"
Ming Huazhang didn't want to waste time, so he asked directly: "Has the coroner's autopsy result come out? Who is the deceased?"
The five of them immediately rushed out of the city after seeing the black smoke, faster than the people in Jingzhao Prefecture. Fortunately, the scene was not damaged too much. Ming Huazhang personally inspected the explosion site, asked Xie Jichuan to supervise the autopsy, and Ming Huachang and the other two searched the perimeter.
Xie Jichuan took out a scented ball and fumigated his sleeves, then said slowly, "You are amazing. You always make me do such immoral things, but you don't even show any concern for me."
Ming Huazhang looked at him silently. Although he didn't say anything, his patience was evident.
This result was not surprising. The other four people did not show much change in expression, but their faces were much more solemn.
When it rains, it pours; this probably describes their current situation.
The third explosion occurred in Chang'an, and the victim was Yan Jingcheng, whom they had been looking for all morning. The palace was already dissatisfied with the progress of solving the case, and now the incident happened again, they didn't know how to be held accountable.
Even someone as heartless as Jiang Ling lowered his head, somewhat angrily saying, "We have been looking for Yan Jingcheng all morning, and we were so close to find him. Damn it, he escaped again."
Ren Yao was anxious and angry when he thought about how they had missed the murderer again. He couldn't help but blame himself and said, "If we had found the murderer faster today, if we had gone to find Yan Jingcheng yesterday, would we have caught the murderer by now?"
"Okay, there's no point in thinking about this now, let's solve the problem first." Everyone couldn't help but feel irritated and discouraged, but Ming Huazhang was as calm as ever, and spoke methodically, "Now that the identity of the deceased has been confirmed, the next thing will be much easier. Come with me and reconstruct the explosion."
Ming Huazhang was the first to walk towards the pavilion. At this moment, his calmness, composure and organization were the best shot in the arm, as if no matter how big the problem was, it could be solved. The remaining people calmed down unconsciously and followed Ming Huazhang.
"The steps at the edge of the pavilion are relatively intact, but the deeper you go, the more severe the collapse is, which shows that the explosion occurred in the center of the pavilion. People around here said that there was originally a set of stone tables and stone benches in the pavilion. I just observed the rubble and found that the side with severe damage was not decorated, while the side with carved patterns was relatively flat. It seems that the gunpowder should be placed under the stone table, and the tabletop was covered with cloth to block the bomb inside. The deceased, Yan Jingcheng, came to the pavilion to wait for someone, and sat at the table without knowing it. He died on the spot after the explosives ignited without time to react."
Ming Huazhang gestured at the corresponding positions while speaking, and the scene at that time seemed to really appear in's mind. Ming Huazhang said: "It seems that the tablecloth and the teacup on it were probably prepared by the murderer, the person who invited Yan Jingcheng to come here. The murderer came in first to set up the scene, placed the bomb, laid the tablecloth, and poured tea. After Yan Jingcheng came, he found an excuse to leave, and even the retreat route was selected in advance by him, completely avoiding witnesses."
Ming Huazhang's reasoning was very careful, and the others had no objection, but there was an oversight in the plan. There are notices everywhere in Chang'an about preventing unknown packages. How could Yan Jingcheng not think twice when he found an extra fuse of unknown purpose in the pavilion?"
Ming Huazhang was silent, he was also thinking about this question, how did the murderer ignite the gunpowder. Ming Huazhang glanced at Ming Huachang, and suddenly an idea came to him: "Oh, right, the teacup. The time and place must have been chosen by the murderer. He could have come early to set up the scene, put the bomb next to Yan Jingcheng's position, and make a fuse, hidden under the tablecloth, extending to his seat. In this way, he could ignite the fuse without anyone noticing while drinking tea, and find an excuse to leave."
Xie Jichuan responded sharply, asking: "How can he be sure that Yan Jingcheng will sit in the seat he expected? What if Yan Jingcheng chooses the seat with the fuse?"
"It still depends on the teacup." Ming Huazhang said, "You are invited to a pavilion, and there are two teacups on the table, one of which is used by the host. Where will you sit?"
Xie Jichuan thought about it and agreed with this explanation.
Ren Yao tried to follow their thoughts and said with his own understanding: "You mean, Yan Jingcheng seemed to be able to choose his seat freely, but in fact, every move he made after entering was controlled by the murderer. In this way, the murderer could ensure that Yan Jingcheng sat in the seat he reserved and ensure the success of the plan?"
Ming Huazhang nodded and immediately confirmed: "That's right."
Jiang Ling was too lazy to find out why. He only paid attention to the most practical things. He looked around at the other people's faces and asked seriously, "Then, who is the person who came here to meet Yan Jingcheng?"
Jiang Ling's words silenced the other three. Xie Jichuan noticed that Ming Huashang looked thoughtful, so he asked curiously, "What are you thinking about?"
Ming Huashang rolled her eyes, came back to her senses, and said slowly, "Oh, I was thinking of something else. Why was Yan Jingcheng the one who died? We didn't look for him because we knew he would be killed by the bomb, but to inquire about black market medicinal materials. How could it be such a coincidence that the person we are looking for is the next victim?"
These words made the four people present serious. They started from the predetermined result and thought that the murderer was cunning and escaped their pursuit again. Ming Huashang proposed a new angle. Why was the person who died exactly the one they were looking for? Was Yan Jingcheng's death an accident or a coincidence?
Xie Jichuan frowned and said, "Could it be that the murderer is deliberately playing tricks on us and will kill whoever we look for?"
This conjecture was chilling. Ming Huashang frowned and thought for a while. She felt something was wrong, but she couldn't tell why. "If that's the case, why is Liu still alive? She is also a key clue for us to solve the case."
Xie Jichuan touched his chin and said, "You reminded me. Could it be that Liu's survival was an accident? The first explosion was during the Lantern Festival. According to common sense, Liu, the mother, would also be standing in front of the 100-year-old lantern. She should have been killed along with Qian Yi. It was just that the child was crying at the time and she was looking after the child, so she escaped."
Jiang Ling and Ren Yao nodded, thinking that this statement made sense. Ming Huazhang listened to them silently and said, "I have had this feeling for a long time. The murderer always seems to be one step ahead of us. The death of Hei Hu yesterday and the death of Yan Jingcheng today made me certain that there is an insider in Jingzhao Prefecture, and someone is informing the murderer."
Ren Yao and Jiang Ling looked frightened. Even Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows: "Do you know what you are talking about?"
"I know." Ming Huazhang said calmly and methodically, "The murderer has carried out three explosions in a row, but Yan Jingcheng was killed by the explosion, while Heihu died in prison for unknown reasons. The time interval was so short, and the murderer should not have changed so much. There are only two possibilities. One, the murderer killed Heihu. Two, Yan Jingcheng's death was part of the murderer's plan, and Heihu's death was an accident."
Ming Huashang nodded in agreement: "Yes, I think so too."
Seeing that the others had no problem, Ming Huazhang continued, "Whether it is scenario one or scenario two, it means that after we caught Hei Hu yesterday, there must be some information that we didn't notice, but it has already threatened the murderer. So the murderer had no choice but to kill Hei Hu first, and brought Yan Jingcheng here to kill him today."
Jiang Ling had completely given up on using his brain and was content to be a tool. Ren Yao became more and more confused as he listened, and asked in surprise: "The Black Tiger Gang's Yan Jingcheng sold stolen goods and drugs, and other than that, he didn't say anything. What did we miss?"
Xie Jichuan secretly weighed the account book in his sleeve, feeling somewhat lucky that they had stolen it in advance, otherwise, it would have been burned by the relevant stakeholders. Xie Jichuan glanced at the crowd with an ambiguous expression and asked, "Is it the person behind Yan Jingcheng?"
Ming Huazhang stared at the back. He was tall and had excellent eyesight. He clearly saw the Jingzhao Yin and a group of red-dressed officials coming. He spoke faster and said, "There are two ways now. First, check the people in Jingzhao Prefecture, but many people know that we are looking for Hei Hu. If we make too much noise, we might alert the enemy. We can only do it secretly. Second, check who Yan Jingcheng has met recently and who he has an appointment with."
As soon as Ming Huazhang finished speaking, the entourage of Jingzhao Yin came over. Ming Huazhang raised his hand slightly to stop the other party from saying, "I know that the officials from the Ministry of Justice and the Procuratorate are here. It will only take a few words and will not delay the time. I may not be able to spare the time and will not be able to act with you. I will arrange the first route, and you can follow the second route. Whether there is any progress or not, see you at Jingzhao Prefecture today at 5 pm."
After saying this, Ming Huazhang waved his sleeves and nodded to his followers, "I'm done. Please go ahead."
The attendant glanced at Ming Huashang and the others, and took Ming Huazhang away with a sullen face. Ming Huashang looked at him with some worry. Seeing Ming Huashang's expression, Ming Huazhang smiled and said calmly, "It's okay."
His eyes were clear and his posture was upright. Even if the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple, and the Yushitai were all alarmed and the situation was so serious, it was just a common occurrence in front of him.
As long as he looked for common problems, there would be a solution. He thought that he had acted honestly and had nothing to be ashamed of, so he was not afraid of being scrutinized and criticized.
Ming Huazhang followed the messenger and walked a long way away. Ming Huachang stared at his back without moving. Xie Jichuan waved his hand in front of her and said, "Come back to your senses, second sister. He will be fine. Instead of wasting time, you might as well think about us."
Jiang Ling has a fish brain, so don't think anything will leave a mark in his brain. Because he doesn't want to, he doesn't know how far the end is, so now he can still be optimistic without any burden: "Let's go, let's check the people who asked Yan Jingcheng to go out, check quickly so that we can have lunch in time!"
However, in fact, let alone lunch, they didn't even have time to drink water. Ming Huashang and the other three returned to Yan Jingcheng's house. This time they had a legitimate reason to ask questions, but unfortunately, after asking around, no one knew who Yan Jingcheng had an appointment with today.
After sending Yan Jingcheng's concubine away, Ming Huashang noticed that Xie Jichuan's eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and his slender fingers were silently pressing his abdomen. She flipped through her brocade bag, took out a paper bag, and handed it to Xie Jichuan.
Xie Jichuan glanced at the oil paper bag, then looked at her and asked in surprise, "What are you doing?"
"I was afraid of being hungry this morning, so I packed some cakes for myself. Don't worry, I personally wrapped the cakes with a handkerchief, so they are absolutely clean."
Xie Jichuan stared at her without moving. Ming Huashang thought he would not touch her. She was about to find the steps to put it away, but Xie Jichuan reached out and took the snack. Ming Huashang was overjoyed and said hurriedly, "Eat quickly. You didn't eat anything in the morning. You were so busy today that you didn't even have time to eat lunch. Your body can't stand it."
"Eat lunch?" Outside the house, Jiang Ling heard the key words accurately and poked his head out excitedly, "What lunch? Hey, Ming Huashang, you're eating alone!"
"Get lost!" Ming Huashang could no longer bear it, so she pushed his head and forced him out. "Mind your own business! How come I've never seen you so active in investigating a case?"
Ming Huashang dragged Jiang Ling outside the house. Through the door, she couldn't hear what they were saying. Xie Jichuan lowered his head to glance at the oil paper package that was obviously carefully made, and slowly untied the ties.
There were snacks neatly arranged inside, all of which were not afraid of cold and easy to digest. Judging from the taste, they were not the type that Ming Huachang liked.
Xie Jichuan slowly picked up a piece and put it into his mouth. The cake melted in his mouth, and the sweetness turned into a spring of water flowing into his limbs and bones, moistening his stomach that had been twisted into a ball and roaring, and the pain was relieved a lot.
The Xie family is very small, and Xie Jichuan is the only child in their family. Xie Jichuan once thought that this was great, because he was the only child, and the family could only devote all resources to supporting him. But at this moment, Xie Jichuan suddenly felt regretful. Why didn't he have an older sister?
It turns out that the feeling of being remembered and noticed is not tiring at all.
Ming Huashang finally managed to get Jiang Ling out. She stood under the eaves, staring at the tree with new buds. Xie Jichuan came out of the house and asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Ming Huashang stared at the treetops and muttered to herself, "I always feel that the murderer must have a pattern in choosing his victims. What is that pattern?"
Xie Jichuan said: "Maybe he just enjoys the feeling of a cat catching a mouse, so he just randomly chooses someone?"
"No." Ming Huashang shook her head. "It may be a random murder in an individual case, but it is definitely not a serial case. In fact, I always feel that Yan Jingcheng's name is very familiar, but I can't remember where I have heard it."
Xie Jichuan glanced at her and said, "Go ask the other people in Yan's house. Maybe someone will remind you and you will remember it."
Ming Huashang nodded gloomily. This was the only solution for now. Xie Jichuan and Ming Huashang were walking in Yan's house. He saw the picture of a handsome horse on the wall and said mercilessly, "He is illiterate, yet he is trying to imitate others in painting pictures of gods and horses. An old horse in the stable, with ambitions to run a thousand miles, is he worthy of this?"
Ming Huashang suddenly stopped, her eyes widened, and she thought about something quickly. Xie Jichuan turned around and asked, "What's wrong?"
Ming Huashang was stunned for a moment, then clapped her hands suddenly: "I figured it out!"
Ren Yao came out to look for Ming Huashang and Xie Jichuan. She saw them standing in the corridor and walked over quickly: "What's wrong? What did you think of?"
Ming Huashang suddenly understood and felt that she couldn't stand for another quarter of an hour. She said to Ren Yao anxiously, "Sister Ren, the three of you continue to question me. I'm going to go out for a while!"
She ran away in a hurry. Ren Yao called out to her and asked in surprise, "Where are you going?"
Xie Jichuan handed the oil-paper package to Ren Yao and said, "You guys keep asking. I'll go after her."
After Xie Jichuan finished speaking, he also left like a gust of wind, leaving Ren Yao standing alone on the corridor, holding a half-pack of snacks in his hand, dazed and confused. Jiang Ling came out from behind and took the food from Ren Yao naturally. He saw Ming Huashang's back running wildly, and asked incoherently: "What did she go to do? Did she go to eat?"
Ren Yao gritted his teeth, clenched his fist, and smashed him on the head with a hammer: "Eat, you only know how to eat!"
Ming Huashang ran out of Yan's house and was running on the street, panting, when she suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves behind her. She turned around and saw Xie Jichuan reining in his horse and reaching out his hand to her: "You are not planning to run over there, are you? Get on, it's faster on horseback."
Ming Huashang was eager to verify his guess, and without any hesitation, he held his hand and got on the horse. After Xie Jichuan received Ming Huashang, he didn't even say a word, but kicked the horse's belly without warning. The horse neighed and ran forward like an arrow.
Ming Huashang silently grasped the mane in front of her, not even daring to open her mouth. She had been taken by Ming Huazhang before, and although Ming Huazhang also rode fast, the feeling he gave was completely different. Ming Huazhang was a steady, predictable speed, while Xie Jichuan's style was completely opposite, he liked thrills, sudden turns and sudden stops. Ming Huashang was so frightened that she could only pray in her heart that the road to Huichuntang would be shorter, and shorter.
Xie Jichuan rode through most of Chang'an and finally arrived at his destination. As soon as the horse stopped, Ming Huashang jumped off and ran to Huichun Hall with her skirt lifted.
Xie Jichuan tied up his horse and followed in calmly. He thought Ming Huashang had found some clues, but he didn't expect her to stand in front of a wall, staring at the plaque on it.
Xie Jichuan glanced at it. The calligraphy was vulgar and stable, and the wood was nothing special. He really couldn't see anything noteworthy. However, Ming Huashang seemed very excited and murmured, "A great doctor is sincere, a great doctor is sincere... Yes, that's it!"
Xie Jichuan thought hard, but to no avail. This was a rare case where he could not understand someone else's thinking, so he had to ask, "What did you think of?"
Ming Huashang turned around, her eyes brightening up amazingly: "I know how the murderer chose the next target. The first victim, Qian Yi, received a golden longevity lock with a horse engraved on it a few days before the explosion; the second victim, Chu Ji, also received an anonymous plaque with the words 'Great Doctor's Sincerity' written on it a few days before the explosion; and the third victim was named Yan Jingcheng!"
Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows and looked at her thoughtfully: "What you mean is..."
"This is a preview!" Ming Huashang excitedly held Xie Jichuan's hand tightly, and there seemed to be two flames burning in her eyes, blazing and bright, "He will leave the name of the next victim at the scene of the previous murder. Chief Ma's life lock, Chu Ji, the great doctor Jingcheng, Yan Jingcheng. Therefore, the scene of Yan Jingcheng's death must have information about the next person the murderer wants to kill!"
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