Chapter 183 House Thief

Because they were in someone else's house, Ming Huashang slept very lightly, and she woke up almost as soon as Li Huazhang moved. Li Huazhang was getting out of bed quietly, and when he heard her wake up, he lowered the curtains again and asked in a low voice: "Did I wake you up?"

Ming Huashang shook her head, rubbed her eyes vigorously and was about to get up: "No, I just can't sleep."

Ming Huashang stretched out her hand naturally. Without saying anything, Li Huazhang had already caught her skillfully. He lifted her up with a slight force on his wrist and said, "You slept late last night. Why don't you sleep a little longer?"

This was not Ming Huashang's normal time to get up. Her mind was dizzy, but she dared not sleep when she was thinking about the murder case. She leaned on Li Huazhang's shoulder, squinting for a while, and decided to get up: "No, I still need to question you later, I will go out with you."

They were staying at Feng's house, and they didn't bring many maids with them. Besides, Li Huazhang didn't like people to get close to him, so when the couple were in the room, they rarely asked the maids to come in. After Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang finished washing up, Li Huazhang didn't ask the maids to come in, but helped Ming Huashang to comb her makeup, braid her hair, and put on jewelry himself.

Ming Huashang actually wanted to do it herself, but Li Huazhang saw Qingqing was cold and nonchalant, but he didn't allow her to take over at all, and he was obviously enjoying it. Seeing that she looked bad, Li Huazhang even used a pen to apply a light lip balm on her, and then he was finally satisfied.

By the time they were dressed and finished their breakfast, almost half an hour had passed. Ming Huashang felt anxious as she saw how long it had taken. Li Huazhang held her back and calmly straightened her collar: "Don't worry, I have ordered people to surround the Feng Mansion, no matter who comes, no one can get out. You can take as long as you want, take your time."

Ming Huashang thought so too. The more anxious you are to get results, the more likely you are to make mistakes. Ming Huashang held the heating stove in her arms and let Li Huazhang straighten and iron her belt. She discussed, "After the accident with Old Feng last night, I saw Feng Kun and Baozhu, but not Feng Lu. Feng Lu is in power and favored by Old Lady Feng. He should be the one who least wants Old Lady Feng to get into trouble. After all, when Old Lady Feng was alive, they were the head of the family. After Old Lady Feng died, according to etiquette, the huge family business should be inherited by the eldest son, and they will have to make a living under Feng Kun. He can't not be anxious. Let's go find Feng Lu first today?"

Li Huazhang nodded, took her hand, and said without objection: "Okay."

Ever since old lady Feng died suddenly in the middle of the night, Feng Jue has been busy. Although Ming Huashang didn't know that old lady Feng's body was still in the hands of the government and the Feng family couldn't hold a funeral, what exactly was Feng Jue busy with? Upon learning that Prince Yong had something to ask him, Feng Jue took time out of his busy schedule to run to the main hall and bowed as soon as he entered the door: "I am late, Prince Yong, Princess Yong, please forgive me!"

Li Huazhang stopped him pretentiously and said, "The Feng family must have a lot of things to deal with after such a big change. I understand. Feng Erlang, you don't need to worry about it. Sit down first. I have something to ask you."

Feng Luan said politely and sat down carefully in the lower seat. Li Huazhang scanned his movements and said, "The coroner is still investigating the cause of death of Mr. Feng. The body cannot be sent back now. I hope Feng Erlang will understand."

Resting in peace is the obsession of many people. Now they are holding onto the body of old lady Feng. Ming Huashang thought that the Feng family would have complaints about this, but unexpectedly Feng Lu nodded and was surprisingly reasonable: "This is natural. My father died in vain, and I also want to find out the truth as soon as possible and seek justice for my father."

Li Huazhang said, "Thank you for your understanding. We have some routine questions, and I hope Feng Erlang will cooperate. What did you do from 11:00 to 12:00 yesterday?"

Feng Erlang said, "After my father asked us to go downstairs, I have been guarding the Zhaixing Tower in the flower room. At midnight, the prince and the princess came. At 15:00, my elder brother brought back tea. The prince and I checked the guards at the door. After the prince and the princess returned to their room, I was afraid that something might go wrong, so I took people to check again. At 15:00, I returned to the flower room. Baozhu said she wanted to go to the kitchen to get cakes. I was a little hungry, so I waited in the flower room. After waiting for about an incense stick, I suddenly heard someone setting off fireworks. I thought the thief appeared, so I quickly took people to the garden, but I didn't see anything. The prince and the princess knew what happened later."

"Were you the first one to go upstairs?"

"The second one." Feng Lu said, "Baozhu was in front of me. At that time, Baozhu said that it was strange that father didn't move, and I panicked and ran upstairs without caring. When I went upstairs, I saw Baozhu pushing father hard and calling old lady. She pushed father several times but father didn't move, and we both knew something was wrong. I was shocked, Baozhu covered her face and cried, and then the prince and princess came up."

Feng Lu hung his head in frustration as he spoke, "It's all my fault. I was useless and someone took advantage of me."

Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang looked at each other, and Li Huazhang asked, "Who do you think killed Old Lady Feng?"

"It must be the thief who came up empty-handed." Feng Jue clenched his fist in anger and said, "He sent an invitation to father and had long coveted the Suihou Pearl. He must have sneaked into Zhaixing Tower to steal the treasure last night and was discovered by father. He was so angry that he killed father."

Ming Huashang tilted her head slightly, very confused: "But, the window on the third floor of Zhaixing Building is open. If someone breaks in, they will definitely be seen from outside."

"We could see it before, but at midnight, fireworks suddenly went off from behind and our attention was drawn to them, so no one was looking at the window. Maybe it was at this time that Miaoshou Kongkong entered the third floor, killed my father, and stole the Suizhu."

Ming Huashang nodded slowly: "It is possible. However, there is no external injury on Mr. Feng's body. How did Miaoshoukongkong kill the old lady?"

Feng Jue hesitated for a moment and said, "They are from the underworld, so they must have many tricks. We will know once we catch Miao Shou Kong Kong."

Li Huazhang had a pale complexion, cold eyes, and a serious look that made him look more like a jade sculpture, cold and elegant. He said solemnly, "As soon as the murder was discovered last night, I had people guard the Feng Mansion and the city gates, so that no one could leave. Now Miaoshoukongkong must still be in the mansion. Feng Erlang, can you give me a list of people in the mansion? I want to check them one by one. Even if I have to dig three feet underground, I will find the thief."

Feng Lu seemed a little hesitant, but when he met Li Huazhang's righteous, upright and majestic gaze, he tightened his cheeks and finally said, "Okay. Prince Yong, please wait a moment. I will go and count the number of people. Some of them were just recruited, and it may take some time to re-register them."

"That's fine." Li Huazhang was very easy to talk to and said generously, "There's no rush for this kind of thing. Take your time to count. I'll be waiting for you in Feng Mansion."

Feng Kun bowed and hurried out. Feng Kun needed a while to sort out the flower list, so Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang went to the next stop, Feng Kun's courtyard, to question them.

Feng Kun heard the maid report that Prince Yong and Princess Yong were coming to question him and had been waiting in the main hall. He had a blank look in his eyes and kept rubbing his hands, feeling a little restless. Suddenly he heard someone talking, got startled, stood up in a hurry, and almost knocked over the teacup on the table.

Li Huazhang helped Ming Huashang lift the curtain. Ming Huashang just entered the room and was startled by Feng Kun's actions. She hurriedly said, "Feng Dalang, be careful."

The maidservant beside him hurriedly caught the teacup. Feng Kun smiled in a panic and said, "I am so excited to have Prince Yong and Princess Yong visit my humble home. I am sorry to have embarrassed you two. Please take a seat, Prince and Princess."

Li Huazhang thanked him indifferently and took Ming Huashang to sit down. Feng Kun seemed to realize that he was entertaining a distinguished guest at this moment, and asked the maid to bring tea and water. Li Huazhang raised his hand, his thin and slender hand was like a jade carving, and every casual movement was full of indescribable nobility: "Don't bother, Feng Dalang. We are here for official business today. Just ask a few questions and answer truthfully. The coroner has examined the body of Mr. Feng and said that Mr. Feng died of poisoning. The specific poison is still being investigated. Feng Dalang, I am sorry. I wonder if you have ever seen poison in the Feng family?"

Speaking of this, Feng Kun shook his head without hesitation and said, "My second brother and his wife are in charge of the general affairs of the mansion. I don't know what exactly is handled at home."

Li Huazhang nodded and asked, "I heard from the servants in the mansion that before midnight last night, they talked to Mr. Feng when they were moving things to the third floor. He was fine at that time. After midnight, everyone went downstairs. We saw Mr. Feng stand up to drink water downstairs, and then lie on the recliner to rest. It was not until midnight that we rushed up to the third floor and found that he had died suddenly. Between midnight and midnight, Mr. Feng opened the window, and everyone downstairs could see that he had no contact with other people. So the only thing he had contact with should be the food and water upstairs. Feng Dalang, you brought the tea upstairs, and you were alone with him for a long time. I wonder if you noticed anything unusual upstairs?"

Feng Kun's eyes moved quickly, and he tensed up and said, "I didn't notice that. The things around father were all prepared by the maids and servants. The people around him should know better."

Seeing that Feng Kun was avoiding the question, Ming Huashang asked, "When Feng Dalang was making tea, did you ever encounter anyone suspicious? Or, did you ever let the tea out of your sight?"

Feng Kun's face turned pale. He blinked his eyes and suddenly said as if he remembered something, "I remember now. I went to the tea room to ask someone to make tea. Baozhu was worried and followed me. I stood outside and talked to Baozhu. When the tea was ready, I was afraid that my father would have to wait for a long time, so I took the tea and left without checking it. If someone had tampered with the tea room, I wouldn't have been able to tell."

Ming Huashang responded softly and took note of the teahouse. She was surprised and asked, "Baozhu also went to the teahouse? Didn't she go back to catch the parrot?"

Feng Kun shrugged and said nonchalantly, "She said she was afraid that I didn't know what kind of tea the old man liked to drink, so she had to go over and tell the waiter before she went back."

Ming Huashang seemed to be thinking about something. Li Huazhang took over the conversation and asked, "Besides the murder of Mr. Feng, there is another matter in the mansion. That is the disappearance of Sui Houzhu. Does Mr. Feng have any idea about the theft?"

提起随侯珠，封锟的臉色一下子鮮活起來，神态也比剛才詢問封老太爺之死時激動多了。封锟清了清嗓子，說：“在下才疏學淺，對破案一竅不通，不知雍王有何高見？”

李華章說道：“高見不敢當。妙手空空給封老留信，将此事鬧得人盡皆知，昨夜子時封府裏突然響起煙花，再回去随侯珠就不見了。會不會是妙手空空偷走了寶物，為了滅口殺死了封老？”

李華章神情平靜淺淡，語調從容不迫，哪怕他說太陽從西邊升起來都十分可信。封锟沒想到雍王的“高見”是這樣的，表情僵了僵，呵呵笑道：“雍王思慮周全，這種情況也有可能，不過，在下倒覺得，摘星樓已圍成鐵桶，便是只鳥都飛不出去，外人來了怎麽能對摘星樓那麽熟悉，完美避開所有巡邏，偷走東西後還能全身而退呢？日防夜防，家賊難防，說不定，妙手空空就在封府內呢。”

李華章眸光認真望着封锟，緩緩點頭：“言之有理。封大郎的意思是，妙手空空僞裝成守衛，潛藏在巡邏隊伍中？”

封锟呃了一聲，支吾片刻，說：“好些家丁是父親收到妙手空空的信之前就招進府裏的，妙手空空就算是盜聖，也不能未蔔先知吧。何況守衛大多要結伴巡邏，僅憑他一個人，怎麽甩開隊伍，在衆目睽睽下登上摘星樓？”

李華章挑眉，問道：“封大郎這話我沒聽懂。妙手空空既不是從外面闖進來的，也不是藏在守衛隊伍中，那他還能如何得手？”

封锟飛快露出一絲不屑之色，含混道：“恐怕壓根沒什麽盜聖，而是封府內有內鬼。”

李華章露出虛心求教的表情，認真問：“那封大郎覺得，內應是誰？”

封锟呵呵幹笑，說：“我并不管府裏的事，怎麽敢信口開河。外府事務及人手巡邏都是二弟在管，雍王不妨去問問二弟。”

李華章和明華裳從封锟的院子中出來後，等走到無人之地，李華章問：“你從他們兄弟身上看出來什麽了嗎？”

明華裳正在思索，聽到李華章的話淡淡搖頭，說：“線索不夠多，現在還不能畫像。不過封锟此人貪財自私，他為了摘清自己，什麽責任都推給別人，态度不免偏頗，但有些事應當是真的，要不然他不敢這樣說。”

李華章問：“那你接下來想去問誰？”

明華裳想了想，說：“知己知彼，方能百戰百勝，有些時候換一個角度思考，說不定會有意外之喜。我們去會會封铻的妻子，封二太太吧。”

封二太太聽到雍王和雍王妃來了的時候，堪稱驚詫。外客沒遞拜帖就上門，可謂十分失禮，封二太太大可置之不理，但那可是雍王和雍王妃，封二太太只能忍着不悅，匆匆收拾了就來見客。

昨夜的事看來對封家打擊甚大，才一晚沒見，封二太太臉色發黃，神情恍惚，妝容再不複往日精致，看得出來精神頭很不好。她強撐着笑容，給來人問好：“妾身參見雍王、雍王妃。”

明華裳上前扶住她：“封二太太不必多禮，大清早來叨擾你，是我們唐突了。”

封二太太哪敢承認，嘴上連忙說“哪裏”。雙方客套過後，賓主落座。剛才面對封铻、封锟時，主要是李華章提問，現在到了封二太太這裏，兩人默契地将主導權交給明華裳。

明華裳抿了口茶，慢慢提起正題：“都快過年了，封老卻出了這種意外，是官府保護不力，被賊人鑽了空子，還請二太太節哀。”

封二太太勉強笑了笑，眼神盯着地面，連客套的話都說不出來。明華裳看着她，問：“仵作說，封老很可能是中毒而死。二太太掌管中饋，不知你可知道，府裏有誰有機會接觸毒？”

“毒？”封二太太擰起眉，道，“府裏采辦有專人負責，內宅等閑接觸不到外面商販，尤其家裏有老人有小孩，要入口的東西盤查特別嚴，根本不會有有毒的東西。妾身不知，興許是外面的人拿進來的吧。”

明華裳問：“會不會府裏有人懂藥理，私下配出毒呢？”

封二太太不屑地笑了笑，說：“王妃有所不知，內宅都是女眷，指不定誰就懷有身孕，對這些東西特別忌諱。府裏人生病了從不用外面的藥，而是由郎中開了藥，從藥房裏抓，再由藥房統一煎熬，送到各人手中。藥房裏有多少藥、每日抓出去多少都是有記錄的，那些毒性大的藥，便是有人拿了對牌來領，藥房也不會輕易給的。”

明華裳露出受教之色：“原來如此。不知這段時間藥房抓藥、煎藥的記錄，可否給我們看看？”

封二太太有些猶豫，這可是封府隐私，怎麽能随便給外人看？李華章見狀說：“封二太太，我們是為了盡快破案，畢竟現在兇手還藏在封家，若不盡早将其捉拿歸案，誰也不知道他下一個會害誰。二太太你說是不是？”

封二太太一想也是，道：“王爺、王妃稍等，我這就讓丫鬟拿賬冊來。”

封二太太起身，低聲交待身邊的丫鬟，丫鬟領命而去。明華裳怕封家暗地裏銷毀、調換賬冊，悄悄示意李華章。李華章和她視線相對，兩人無聲僵持，最終明華裳用力瞪了李華章一眼，李華章無奈落敗，跟着站起身：“我也去看看。”

丫鬟看到雍王也要去藥房，十分拘束，但李華章舉止從容，悠然保持着距離，一派君子作風。丫鬟和封二太太都不好說什麽，只能由着李華章去了。

等賬冊期間，反正也無聊，明華裳就有一搭沒一搭和封二太太閑話，詢問她昨日的行動。

女眷的活動要比男子的簡單很多，昨日封二太太本來都要歇了，突然聽到封老太爺讓她去招待雍王、雍王妃，她不敢大意，趕緊換了衣服去了。等安頓好明華裳、李華章後，封二太太回房卸妝睡覺，沒想到才睡下沒多久，被一陣爆竹聲驚醒，沒一會就聽到下人說封老太爺死了。

封二太太被吓得一晚上沒睡着，快黎明才眯了會，但封老太爺突然撒手人寰，府裏許多事都亂了套，封二太太不敢多睡，早早起來安排人手，一直忙到現在。

全程封二太太身邊都有人，丫鬟婆子都可以印證她的行蹤。明華裳亂七八糟扯了一會，不動聲色打聽：“唉，封老英明一世，竟走得這麽倉促，實在令人惋惜。我看昨日封老身上帶着一個香包，問起來似有藥味，二太太可知道，這個香包是哪裏來的？”

封二太太不在意地哦了聲，說：“那是寶珠做的，說是前朝秘方，能強身健體，靜心養氣，老太爺每日都帶在身上。”

明華裳關切地問：“封老身體不舒服嗎，怎麽随身戴藥方？”

“倒也沒有。”涉及死去的公爹，封二太太的話非常謹慎，斟酌着說道，“老太爺身子骨還算健朗，今年他不知為何格外注重養生。正巧寶珠随人牙子走南闖北，見識過幾個藥方，寶珠便讓藥房每旬開一副強身健體的藥，她給老太爺做成藥囊。已經有半年了，一直如此。”

“原來如此。”明華裳真心實意道，“寶珠真是能幹，會管賬，會下廚，會針灸，還會養鳥。難怪旁人都說離開了寶珠，封老太爺就像失去了臂膀，一日都周轉不了呢。”

封二太太低頭掀茶盞，說：“下人說着玩笑，略誇張了些，但道理倒也不差。要不然，大嫂也不會轉性成了賢良人，一心一意要給大伯納寶珠。這麽得力的幫手，老太爺就該帶她到地下，可惜了，以後不知道要便宜誰呢。”

明華裳聽出封二太太似乎話裏有話，她眼珠轉了轉，一派天真道：“我怎麽覺得，大房好像不太喜歡寶珠？昨夜，我隐約聽到大郎怒罵寶珠，還嚷嚷着要将寶珠發賣呢。這聽着，似乎也不是喜歡。”

封二太太嗤了聲，神色不屑。李華章不在，屋裏沒有男人，封二太太便放開了手腳，大肆點評道：“王妃您還年輕，王爺也寵您，您後宅清淨，不懂這些魍魉手段。老太爺在世時，大伯那麽怕老太爺，都忍不住在老太爺眼皮子底下勾搭寶珠，如今老太爺不在了，老太爺到底留下多少私産，恐怕只有寶珠清楚了，男人還能撂開了手？不過是欲擒故縱的把戲罷了，還不知道是誰釣着誰呢。”

聽封二太太的話音，似乎對寶珠頗有敵意。明華裳裝作不解，替寶珠辯解道：“二太太你是說，其實是寶珠勾引封大郎，故意釣着他？可是昨日守夜時，寶珠始終規規矩矩的，反倒是封大郎，總是為難她。以寶珠的品貌，何愁找不到好人家，她應該不是這樣的人。”

Madam Feng Er sneered and said with even more disdain: "A fly won't bite a flawless egg. If she was really a virtuous woman, why would uncle be obsessed with her? How can she complain if she is not bullied? Men just want to be pitiful."

Mrs. Feng Er's words were full of venom. If it was just the maid and the eldest uncle who were gossiping about the eunuch, why would she be so angry? Ming Huashang thought of Feng Erlang's unusual admiration and sympathy for Baozhu, and vaguely understood.

A greeting came from outside, and Li Huazhang came back with the pharmacy brochure. Ming Huashang and Mrs. Feng stopped talking about gossip and talked about other things. Soon Li Huazhang came in, and while Mrs. Feng and Li Huazhang were chatting, Ming Huashang quickly scanned the records of taking medicines for the past three months.

Except for some common medicines for recuperation and typhoid fever, there is indeed no highly toxic medicine leaking out. Every ten days, Grandma Feng's hospital withdraws a batch of medicinal materials, and the name left is Baozhu, which matches what Mrs. Feng said. Grandma Feng was poisoned to death, and no one in the female family could come into contact with the poison. It seems that the female family members can be cleared of suspicion.

Ming Huashang flipped through the book briefly, closed it, and said with a smile, "Thank you, Second Madam. Mr. Feng is a murder case, so this booklet needs to be sent to the coroner for examination. Is that convenient?"

What could Second Madam Feng say? Even if it was inconvenient, it was convenient. She smiled and said, "What are you talking about, Princess? You and Prince Yong are here for our old lady. It is my honor to be able to help. Just take it if you need it. The pharmacy is not in a hurry. You can use it as long as you want."

Ming Huashang was not polite and really put it away. She put the things into her sleeves, carefully arranged the hem of her clothes, and asked casually: "Second Madam, who do you think killed Old Lady Feng?"

Madam Feng pursed her lips, and then pursed them again, and then slowly said, "I have not experienced anything, so I dare not speak rashly. However, when the old lady died, the Suihou Pearl also disappeared. The Suihou Pearl is very valuable. Even if the old lady bought it at a low price, it is still worth half of the Feng family's wealth. Maybe someone went all out to murder the old man in order to embezzle the family property."

After Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang came out of Mrs. Feng's courtyard, Ming Huashang was very amused and said to Li Huazhang, "What a coincidence, the three people gave three different answers. Feng Lu thought it was the thief who caused the trouble, Feng Kun hinted that Feng Lu was the one who was stealing, and Feng Lu's wife thought that Feng Kun killed his father for the sake of property. These brothers are really not from the same family. They are not from the same family."

Li Huazhang didn't know the whole story, so he didn't comment. He looked at the time and said, "It's almost noon. You've been hungry all morning. Shall we go eat first?"

Ming Huashang shook her head: "No, let's finish asking the rest of the people in one go, and then we can go back and eat."

For the first time ever, Li Huazhang did not argue. He took out an oil-paper bag from his bag, picked out a piece of cake, and put it into Ming Huashang's mouth: "Okay. You take a rest first, and we will go home after we finish asking questions."

Ming Huachang was very surprised to see Li Huazhang taking out the cakes and asked, "Hey, when did you put them there? Why are you carrying cakes with you?"

"I brought it with me a long time ago. I didn't expect it would come in handy today." Li Huazhang said in a light tone. After feeding her, he took out a handkerchief from somewhere and carefully wiped the crumbs from her lips. "Eat slowly. Be careful not to choke."

Ming Huachang's mouth was stuffed with snacks, so full that she couldn't speak. Given Li Huazhang's personality, it would be reasonable for him to carry weapons, paper, pens, and even books with him, but he actually carried pastries with him. Ming Huachang thought that only she would do such a thing.

Ming Huashang swallowed the plum cake with great effort, thinking with a sigh, if it was three years ago, she would never believe that her cold and noble brother would hide food with him, but this scene really happened in front of her. Marriage can really change a man completely.