Chapter 185 Confusion

Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang came out of the guard post. The sky was dark, and the clouds were pressing down. It seemed that it was going to snow again. Li Huazhang ordered people to transport the body of old lady Feng and important evidence to the governor's mansion, and sent soldiers to guard the murder scene. After all this was done, Feng Yan still did not send the list of Feng family members.

Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang had no choice but to go to the inner courtyard in person. Their first stop today was to look for Feng Lu. After most of the day, his list finally arrived.

The Feng family tried to persuade him to stay, but Li Huazhang was gentle on the surface, but he refused firmly. When he finally boarded the carriage back home, Ming Huashang breathed a sigh of relief. Only then did he feel exhausted as if the sky was falling and the earth was splitting.

Li Huazhang didn't ride a horse today, but stayed with her in the car. He saw Ming Huashang stopped talking as soon as she got on the car, and knew she was tired. He held her against his legs and rubbed her temples slowly: "If you are tired, take a rest. I will call you when we get home."

They only slept for two hours last night, and today they kept asking questions. Ming Huachang felt a sharp pain in her temples. But she still pulled herself together and said to Li Huazhang, "You should take a rest too. You don't have to take care of me."

Li Huazhang hummed softly, but his hands did not stop moving. The warm, slender fingers pressed on his temples, greatly relieving the pain in his skull that felt like a needle drilling into his head. Ming Huashang closed her eyes and dozed off without realizing it.

When Ming Huashang regained consciousness, she was carried along the corridor, wrapped in a large and soft cloak, with only her face exposed. She was surrounded by familiar buildings that she had seen for half a year, and the flowers and plants in the garden were planted by her.

Ming Huashang stretched out her hands from her cloak with great difficulty and hugged the neck of the person in front of her: "Didn't I ask you to wake me up?"

"It's just a short distance, it's okay." Li Huazhang lowered his eyes and asked, "Did the wind wake you up?"

Ming Huashang shook his head. This cloak should have been taken by Li Huazhang from the government office. The fabric was fluffy and dry, and was stained with the clear and distant cedar scent, the same scent as his. Ming Huashang immersed himself in the familiar smell and suddenly asked, "Have I become heavier?"

Li Huazhang was stunned for a moment, thinking he didn't hear clearly: "Huh?"

Ming Huachang thought about her increasingly unrestrained eating after marriage, and she was filled with anxiety: "It's winter now, and I've been eating a lot recently. Am I getting fat?"

Li Huazhang laughed, hugged her tightly with both hands, and stepped over the threshold easily: "No."

Li Huazhang carried Ming Huashang into the house. The maids received the news and were ready. They poured hot water, served cakes, and took clothes in an orderly manner. Ming Huashang took off her old clothes and changed into her casual clothes that had just been fumigated. She sat on the couch and drank a bowl of hot ginger tea. She finally felt like she was alive again.

Li Huazhang also changed into a flowery blue round-necked robe. Because he was at home, he did not wear a belt. The soft fabric slid down along his body line, vaguely outlining his slender and strong waist. When he moved, it was like the wind blowing the willows and the snow shining on the green pines. It was indescribably pleasing to the eyes. Li Huazhang sat down, reached out and touched Ming Huachang's cheek, and then he said with relief: "It's better now. You were very cold just now, and I was worried that you were sick."

Ming Huachang drank a bowl of hot tea and ate a few cakes made by Jinbao. He felt revived: "I'm fine. I'm as healthy as a bull. How could I be sick?"

How could she say that about herself? Li Huazhang was helpless. Seeing her stuffing snacks into her mouth one by one, he said, "Eat less. We still have to eat soon."

"It's okay." Ming Huashang waved her hands carelessly. "Am I the kind of person who can't eat a meal after eating two snacks? Don't worry, it won't affect me at all."

Li Huazhang looked at her helplessly and told the maids to serve the meal. The banquet prepared by the Feng family was indeed exquisite, but after all, home-cooked meals were more comfortable to eat. After eating the hot meals, Ming Huachang regained her energy and her brain could work again.

Ming Huashang took out a sachet from her old clothes and said, "This is the medicine sachet that Old Lady Feng used before. Do you have the medicine I bought from the Feng family?"

“Take it.”

"Okay." Ming Huashang said, "Take this old sachet, Baozhu's new medicine, and the prescription to the doctor to test them to see if they are the same and whether there is any poison in them."

Most of the medicine Baozhu gave them was fine. The key was the medicine bag that Old Lady Feng had touched. The sachet that Old Lady Feng wore when she died was brought back as evidence. Li Huazhang had someone examine it as soon as he came back. He took the old sachet and said to the attendant, "Send it to the coroner and ask him to focus on examining this sachet and the one on Feng Rong's body."

The attendants took orders and left. The maids all left without noticing. They were the only two left in the room. The couple could talk more freely. Ming Huashang asked, "Did you find anything new on the body?"

"Not yet. The coroner found no wounds. It's the same as our judgment yesterday. It should be poisoning. But it's hard to say what kind of poison it was."

Ming Huashang thought and said, "Old Lady Feng had no external injuries on his body. He was in everyone's sight before his death. Either someone poisoned him in advance and delayed the onset of the poison until midnight, or someone went in and killed Old Lady Feng when the fireworks were set off at almost midnight and most of the guards left. If it is the former, anyone who has come into contact with Old Lady Feng's food and drink could be the murderer, especially Feng Kun, who served tea to Old Lady Feng, was alone with Old Lady Feng before his death, and "accidentally" broke the teapot after the incident. If it is the latter, then the guards guarding the Zhaixing Tower are very suspicious, and the guards have always been under the full control of Feng Lu. Today, he delayed handing in the list of names, so I'm afraid he is also related to Old Lady Feng's death."

Li Huazhang reminded: "We found old lady Feng dead at midnight, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the poison took effect at midnight. He stood up to drink tea at 11:30 pm, and that was the last time we saw him move. After that, until midnight, he lay still on the recliner, and it is very likely that the poison took effect during this period."

"That's possible." Ming Huashang tried to hold back, but couldn't help asking, "Was he so quiet when the poison took effect? ​​He was leaning on the recliner without moving, as if he was asleep?"

Li Huazhang sighed and said, "So the most urgent thing is to find out the cause of his death. What kind of poison did he die of? It is crucial."

Ming Huashang is not good at autopsies, especially toxicology. She did what she is best at, recalling the layout of the third floor of Zhaixing Building, and deducing the murderer's portrait from the crime scene: "The murderer this time is very different from the previous ones. The scene is too ordinary, and there are almost no traces of murder."

Li Huazhang asked: "Is it because the murderer was so careful and cautious that no traces can be found?"

"No." Ming Huashang shook her head. "Yuqiong of Tianxiang Tower was cautious enough, wasn't she? And Liao Yushan, who warned of the murder under the eyes of the government, couldn't be said to be unmistakable, right? But their crime scenes cleared up the identity features and time clues, but left a lot of traces of murder. For example, when you enter Tianxiang Tower and the explosion site, you can feel that someone has died here as soon as you get close, but this is not the case of Old Lady Feng. The third floor of Zhaixing Tower is too ordinary. After entering, you will only feel that someone has lived here. It is difficult to tell that this is the scene of the murder. Either the murderer is careful enough, or he knows Old Lady Feng well enough."

"So, it should be an internal thief without a doubt." Li Huazhang said, "Just like my feeling, there is no such thing as Miaoshou Kongkong, or rather, Miaoshou Kongkong is an insider of the Feng family. The so-called thief sent the letter and took the treasure three days later, it was always their own people who did it."

Ming Huashang thought the same. She had some doubts since the news that the Thief Saint was coming to the Feng family to steal something spread quickly three days ago. The storyteller in the teahouse vividly described how the Thief Saint had great magical powers and how he bypassed the guards to enter the bedside of Old Lady Feng and leave a letter. However, only the government, the Feng family and Miaoshou Kongkong knew the details of the letter. Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang did not tell anyone. Miaoshou Kongkong had not yet obtained the Suihou Pearl, so there was no need for him to reveal the details in person. It could only be the Feng family who told them.

"Why?" Ming Huashang couldn't understand. "They have the Suihou Pearl, they hid it quietly in their own home, and made a fortune quietly. Why did they fabricate a thief and spread it around so that everyone knows about it?"

"It's nothing more than fame and wealth." Li Huazhang said, "The Feng family has wealth but no power. They want to use the Suihou Pearl to enhance their own reputation, and then let the thief steal the Suihou Pearl in public, so that they can gain both fame and wealth, and gain both face and protection. Unexpectedly, their plan was well calculated, but it went wrong when it was actually implemented. Someone really wanted to steal the treasure, so they used the trick to kill old lady Feng and take the Suihou Pearl, and let the thief who didn't exist at all take the blame."

Ming Huashang raised her eyebrows: "Are you suspicious of Feng Kun?"

"No, it was Feng Rong." Li Huazhang said, "Feng Rong wanted to seize the family property, and he did have a motive, but he was the eldest son. As long as Old Lady Feng died, the Feng family's property would naturally be his. Although he had a motive, he was not so urgent. If the murderer was really him, it would be too stupid for him to personally deliver the poisoned tea. On the contrary, it was Feng Rong. He could be in power when Old Lady Feng was alive, but once Old Lady Feng died, he would be making wedding clothes for others. He wanted to take as much as possible while the housekeeper was alive, so he also had a motive to steal Sui Houzhu."

It makes sense, but it's still not enough to convince Ming Huashang: "It's true that Feng Lu's doing this will benefit him, but it will also cause more harm. Old Lady Feng favors him so much, he can just manage the household while secretly transferring the family property. What good will it do him to kill the old lady?"

"Then you have to ask him himself." Li Huazhang said, "He was in charge of guarding the Zhaixing Tower. He knew best whether anyone had entered or not. But he still insisted that Miaoshoukongkong had stolen something and killed someone. If he had no evil intentions, why would he lie? I asked him to sort out the people in the Feng family's outer courtyard. I just looked at the list, and the number of people on the list is far less than the actual number. He sorted it out for a whole day, and he ended up like this?"

"Really?" Ming Huashang took the list and flipped through the pages. "How do you know there are fewer people?"

"I made an estimate when I was patrolling last night," Li Huazhang said. "A large number of gangsters and young men suddenly flooded into Shangzhou, all armed with weapons. I had to conduct a thorough investigation. The Feng family recruited people under the pretext of guarding the treasure, and I had always suspected that they had other intentions. Today, Feng Lu concealed the number of people, which confirmed that they had bad intentions."

Indeed, no matter how Old Lady Feng died, Feng Lu's repeated lies were definitely not a normal reaction. Ming Huashang asked: "Since you suspect him, why do you let him stay in the Feng family?"

"There are so many people of unknown origin in the Feng family, it is not advisable to startle them." Li Huazhang said, "Besides, now everything is just my suspicion, and there is no evidence to prove what Feng Lu did. It is better to keep him for now and take action after finding out what he wants to do."

"Okay." Ming Huashang nodded. "Tomorrow, we'll go to the Feng family again. I want to see what Feng Lu is up to."

On the morning of the fifth day of the twelfth lunar month, the city gates were finally reopened, but everyone entering or leaving had to have their identity checked, and the inspection was very strict. As the people lined up at the city gates, they were all talking about the murder of the Feng family.

The Feng family is now the hottest topic in Shangzhou. The Thief Saint had previously posted a message to the Feng family, naming them to steal the Suihou Pearl on December 4th, which had already brought the Feng family into the limelight. During this time, the Feng family was recruiting troops, and the rumblings of the news aroused everyone's appetite to the highest level. As a result, guess what, the Suihou Pearl was hidden in a high building and surrounded by people, but it was still stolen by the Thieves. Old Master Feng was guarding Beside the jewelry, he died mysteriously in front of everyone. The cause of death is still unknown.

The whole incident involved jewels, thieves, and death, and was bizarre and fantastic, instantly igniting the people's passion for gossip. Teahouses and taverns were full of people arguing about the incident. Some said that the powerful thief stole the Suihou Pearl in public and killed people for the treasure; some said that the two sons of the Feng family fought to the death for the family property; some said that it was a ghost who committed the crime. The Suihou Pearl had been circulated in the courts of various countries, and the soul of a princess of a fallen country was attached to the Suihou Pearl, which would absorb people's essence to vent its hatred for the destruction of its country.

The subsequent speculations became more and more outrageous and gradually went in a bizarre direction. When people were making up stories about the romantic affairs of the princesses and queens who had owned the Suihou Pearl, the governor of Shangzhou was getting on a carriage with his wife and heading to the Feng family to investigate the case.

The concierge of the Feng family saw King Yong and Princess Yong coming again, and hurriedly stepped forward to greet them. Li Huazhang walked in holding Minghua Shang and said to the servants of the Feng family: "Is the second son of your house here? I have something to ask him."

"Yes, yes. Your Highness Prince Yong, please wait a moment. I will go and call Erlang over."

Li Huazhang and Ming Huachang waited for a cup of tea in the main hall, but Feng Hu was still nowhere to be seen. The servants of the Feng family were a little embarrassed and said hurriedly: "Maybe Erlang is busy, he will be here soon. Your Highness, please forgive me, I will find someone to rush me."

"Don't bother." Li Huazhang stood up and said calmly, "Since he is busy, let's go find him."

Li Huazhang and Ming Huashang knew the way to the inner courtyard, entered the second gate, and went straight to Feng Lu's residence. However, when they arrived, Feng Er's wife came out to greet them, looking very flustered: "Why did the two princes come here in person? I have sent someone to find Erlang, but Erlang was in a bad mood last night and did not sleep in the room, but went to the waterside pavilion to relax. Ziyu is really a girl, she took so long to walk such a short distance from the waterside pavilion to the inner courtyard. Didn't she see that Prince Yong and Princess Yong came?"

When Ming Huashang heard that Feng Lu was not there, she instinctively felt something was strange: "Feng Lu stayed outside last night and didn't come back?"

"Yes, after the prince and princess left, Erlang said he was in a bad mood and went to the waterside pavilion to stay alone. After dark, I sent someone to call him back, but he said he was upset and wanted to drink alone, so he would not come back tonight." Madam Feng Er muttered to herself, "How much did he drink last night? It's been so long, and he's still drunk? Your Highnesses, please forgive me, Erlang may have drunk too much. I will go to the waterside pavilion to find him. Please wait for a moment, prince and princess."

Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang looked at each other, and Ming Huashang said, "You're too polite, ma'am. Let's go with you."

Mrs. Feng was very reluctant to let outsiders see Feng Lu's ugly drunken appearance, but since Prince Yong and Princess Yong insisted, she could not say anything more. Mrs. Feng responded enthusiastically, but secretly signaled to her trusted maid to hurry to the waterside pavilion to remind Feng Lu.

Ming Huashang saw it but pretended not to notice. They walked into the garden while talking, passed through the winding water plank road, and came to the waterside pavilion. There were already many people in the waterside pavilion, and the maids were calling for Erlang everywhere. When Mrs. Feng Er saw it, her eyelids jumped and she couldn't help asking, "Has Erlang not been found yet?"

"No." The maid shook her head and lowered her eyes, not daring to look at Mrs. Feng. "Sister Ziyu said that Erlang is not in the waterside pavilion, and asked us to help look for him."

"Not in the waterside pavilion?" Mrs. Feng frowned. "That's impossible. Erlang clearly said he was drinking in the waterside pavilion yesterday. How could he not be there?"

Ming Huashang and Li Huazhang looked at each other calmly, seeing similar suspicion in each other's eyes. Could it be that Feng Lu ran away? Li Huazhang was about to call for someone to search the city, when suddenly a high-pitched scream came from behind the waterside pavilion, almost piercing one's eardrums.

"ah!"

Li Huazhang reacted the fastest and immediately ran towards the source of the sound, followed closely by Ming Huashang, holding up the hem of her skirt. The two of them passed through the waterside pavilion and saw a maid sitting on the ground on the fishing platform behind the pavilion, her face pale and her body trembling.

Li Huazhang signaled Ming Huashang to be careful, and he slowly walked around the maid and looked underwater.

The temperature dropped last night, and the lake water was frozen black. Withered lotus leaves were scattered on the water, with frost on the leaves, as if they were on the verge of decay and were forcibly sealed by ice. Under the deep water, through the dark green lotus leaf stems, you can see a face that has been soaked and turned white and swollen.

It was the Second Young Master of the Feng Family, Feng Xun, whom they were looking for.