Chapter 190 Borrowing a Knife
As the night deepened, the wind and snow did not stop, but became stronger and stronger. After Ming Huashang released the white pigeon, she continued to let the yamen runners search for the exit of the secret passage. After a while, the yamen runners came over and reported: "Princess, the exit has been found."
Ming Huashang went to the place pointed by the yamen runners in the snow. Ming Huashang walked to a remote woodland, which was the edge of the garden. Not far away was the wall, and the sound of night watchmen could be heard faintly on the street. The shadows of the trees were swaying all around, dark and bleak, and a thin layer of white accumulated from the treetops to the ground, indicating that there was rarely any human presence here.
But at this moment, the white was broken in one place by footprints, and the snow was trampled into the mud, making it mottled and messy. The footprints continued to the base of the wall, and there were several mud prints on the wall, which showed that a group of people had climbed out from here.
Ming Huashang asked: "What is behind this wall?"
The servant of Feng Mansion reported: "Princess, it's the outer courtyard."
Ming Huashang moved to several yamen runners to hold torches and said, "Stand here and don't move. I'll go to the back to take a look."
The Feng family led the way, and Ming Huashang passed through the wall from the side door, followed the firelight, and quickly found the place where the bandits fell down. She followed the footprints and walked to the outer courtyard wall, and then outside was the street.
There were also mud marks on the courtyard wall, left by someone climbing over the wall. Ming Huashang counted the footprints and found that they matched the previous number. It seemed that the thieves did not stay in Feng's house after coming out of the secret passage of Zhaixing Tower, but took a shortcut to escape.
But Ming Huachang's expression did not become relaxed. When she learned that bandits had sneaked into the Feng family, she immediately gathered all the people in the Feng family together to prevent the bandits from hiding in the dark and hurting people. At the same time, she wrote a letter to Li Huazhang, informing him of her whereabouts and reminding him to be careful of the bandits. However, the bandits did not fight to the end and ran away as soon as they succeeded. The Feng family was temporarily successful. safe, but the people in the city were all unarmed. If this group of murderous bandits were allowed to sneak into the residential area, the consequences would be disastrous.
Ming Huashang was not careless and quickly said to the guards: "Gather a team of people and follow their footsteps to see where they have fled to. Be careful to hide your whereabouts on the road. If the situation is not right, quickly return to ask for help, and don't make a fuss."
The guard agreed and ran out of the palace wall quickly. Seeing that Ming Huashang had been standing in the night wind for most of the night, even her collar was wet by the snow, the attendant hurriedly said, "Princess, it's cold outside, and they won't be back for a while, you should go back to the room and rest first."
Ming Huachang breathed a sigh of relief into her cold hands, without refusing, and went back to warm herself by the fire amid the crowd. Everyone in the Feng family was still gathered in the main courtyard. Mrs. Feng and Mrs. Feng were furious, and they couldn't help but have a look of resentment on their faces. helped Minghua Shang cross the threshold and asked, "Princess, since the bandits have escaped, do these people still have to wait in the main courtyard?"
Ming Huashang took a look and said, "The bandits are not in Feng's house, so the house is safe for now. It's such a cold night, it's not comfortable for everyone to sit in the cold wind, so go back and rest first. But keep the doors closed and don't go out. If you must go out, make sure you go with a companion."
When the Feng family heard this, they were relieved. Baozhu said to Ming Huashang, "Princess, please go into the house and warm yourself up. I will take care of everything here."
Ming Huashang unceremoniously took on the role of the manager and went into the house to warm herself comfortably by the fire. Baozhu stayed outside to arrange for everyone to leave in an orderly manner. After a while, the noise outside the window gradually faded, and Baozhu came in through the curtains, her body soaked in a strong chill: "Princess, everyone has gone back."
Ming Huashang changed into a pair of soft-soled shoes and was sitting in the inner room fiddling with Old Lady Feng's walking stick. She hummed inadvertently, picked up the walking stick and tried it, saying, "Thank you for your hard work. Oh, it's really heavy."
Baozhu's hands and face were red from the cold, but she had no time to warm herself up. She hurriedly brought hot tea and snacks and placed them gently in Ming Huashang's hand: "Yes, this is the longevity stick given by the court. The old lady cherishes it very much and never lets it go. These little girls are so rude. Why didn't anyone serve you tea? Don't blame me, Princess."
Ming Huashang smiled and shook her head, indicating that it was okay. She put down her crutches and glanced at the snacks, but did not eat them. At this time, the sound of flapping wings came from outside. Ming Huashang immediately perked up and stood up and walked to the window.
She opened the window, and a white pigeon flew in immediately. Ming Huashang reached out to catch it and wiped the snow off its body: "Has the letter been delivered?"
The white pigeon tilted its head and cooed at Ming Huashang. Ming Huashang took down the mailbox and found that the envelope inside had been changed. She unfolded the paper and scanned it at a glance. Baozhu came over and said, "This pigeon seems to be replying to the princess's words. It's really smart."
Ming Huashang nodded, rolled up the letter into her sleeve, and wiped the pigeon's feathers lovingly: "It's still snowing outside, it must be frozen to death. Baozhu, I remember you have a parrot, can you lend me your birdcage?"
Baozhu was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "What are you talking about, Princess? It is our blessing that you are liking us. Princess, please come over here."
Baozhu took Ming Huashang to the main building, opened the cage herself, and added rice water to the sink. Ming Huashang put the pigeons into the cage and watched the two birds stand cautiously on each side, shaking their feathers to test each other, and said with a smile: "It is indeed a spiritual thing, and it knows how to show off."
Baozhu echoed, "I have made this parrot stupid. Thanks to the princess's white pigeon's kindness, I won't bother with it."
Ming Huashang smiled faintly and said, "It's not stupid. If you ask me, this parrot is a very smart and humane bird. You have obviously raised it very well."
Baozhu lowered her eyes slightly: "Princess, thank you."
The two birds passed the tactical intimidation period and entered into a war of words. For a while, the mansion was filled with constant chirping and quarreling. Ming Huashang left the birds' affairs to them to solve themselves, and walked out of the mansion and wiped her fingers with a handkerchief. Baozhu saw that Ming Huashang didn't like the smell of her hands, and hurriedly asked someone to bring water. Ming Huashang did not refuse, and after washing her hands, a guard came in covered with broken snow and delivered a message: "Report, Princess, I found the city gate by following the footprints. But we were a step too late, and the group had killed the gatekeeper and escaped. We also met the people left behind by the prince."
Ming Huashang was excited when she heard this: "He's back too?"
"Yes, but the prince has taken his men to chase the bandits, leaving only one team to guard the city gate. We almost missed them when we went there."
Ming Huashang couldn't help but frown when she heard this. It seemed that Li Huazhang had just received her letter and returned to the city. But they were still too late. The bandits had killed the city guards and fled. Li Huazhang didn't even enter the city gate and immediately led his men to chase the bandits. Ming Huashang sighed: "He is always like this. Forget it, what else did he say?"
"When I went there, the prince had already left, and I didn't hear any instructions from him."
"Where are the murdered gate guards located? Are there any other casualties?"
"Don't worry, Princess. The prince has already made arrangements before he left."
Ming Huashang asked about the details carefully, and only after confirming that Li Huazhang had arranged for compensation and treatment did he feel relieved and said, "As long as the lives of others are safe, please tell me everything that happened at the city gate, no matter how detailed it is."
The guards repeated the words of the city gate guards. Tonight, when they were patrolling the east city wall, they suddenly heard screams coming from the city gate. They ran over and saw a group of men in black wielding swords, hacking to death several officers and soldiers, and killing all the way to the city gate. injured people. King Yong ordered people to bandage them. After asking the black-clothed people about their escape direction, he led people to chase them. After a while, the people sent by Ming Huashang found the city gate. The guards asked about the situation and immediately returned to report to Ming Huashang.
Ming Huashang asked about the characteristics of the men in black, and the guard scratched his head and said, "I didn't ask, but I heard from the injured guard that there were about ten people in the group, all of them were tough and experienced, and they seemed to be very familiar with the city defense. Moreover, before they rushed out of the city, someone heard them shouting that if they captured such and such, they would be able to live a life of luxury for the rest of their lives."
Ming Huashang narrowed her eyes slightly and added: "But is it Suihouzhu?"
The guard's eyes lit up: "Oh, yes, that's it."
Baozhu was also in the room and heard the guards' words from beginning to end. She frowned and asked in confusion, "How did Suihouzhu end up in the hands of these bandits?"
Ming Huashang said calmly, "That makes sense. No wonder Feng Dalang braved the severe cold tonight to appear in Zhaixing Tower. It turned out to be for this thing. If I'm guessing correctly, the bandits somehow learned that Suihou Pearl was still in Zhaixing Tower, so they went upstairs through the secret passage and waited in the building. They ran into Feng Dalang who was also looking for treasure in Zhaixing Tower. took the risk, killed Feng Dalang, and took the treasure out of the city. As long as they can escape, they only need to sell Suihou Pearl after the storm has passed, and the money they get will be enough for them to spend for the rest of their lives."
The guards and Baozhu all showed a look of sudden enlightenment: "So that's how it is. The princess is really very smart."
"But I don't understand one thing." Ming Huashang said slowly, "The bandits entered and exited the Zhaixing Tower through the secret passage, but this is what doesn't make sense. As a member of the Feng family, it is reasonable for Feng Dalang to know that there is a secret passage in the Zhaixing Tower, but the bandits are just a group of servants recruited temporarily. Even if Old Lady Feng recruited them personally, no matter how much trust she has, she would never tell them such a confidential matter. So how did they know the entrance to the secret passage of the Zhaixing Tower?"
The guard scratched his head, bewildered: "I don't know. Princess, don't worry. Wait until the prince catches those villains and tortures them, and everything will be clear."
Ming Huashang sighed: "It seems that this is the only way. You have worked hard tonight, go outside and warm yourself by the fire."
The guards clasped their fists and left. He closed the door, mercilessly shutting out the rustling wind and snow. The room was so quiet that only the beeping of the Boshan stove could be heard. Baozhu weighed her words and said softly, "The weather is so bad tonight, but Prince Yong personally led his troops to suppress the bandits. He really loves his people like his own children."
"Yes, he has always been like this. He cannot tolerate even a grain of sand in his eyes." Ming Huashang opened the Boshan stove and used a fire tong to stir the incense ash, saying, "Of course, the bandits must be suppressed, but the murderer must not be let off either."
Baozhu frowned, very puzzled: "Princess, didn't the bandits kill the old lady, Erlang and Dalang?"
Ming Huashang smiled at this, turned around, and looked directly at Baozhu with clear eyes: "Feng Kun was indeed killed by bandits, but they were just knives. The real person who lured them into the game was someone else. Baozhu, don't you agree?"
Baozhu was silent for a while, then lowered her eyelashes and said, "Princess, I don't understand what you are talking about."
Ming Huashang closed the lid of the incense burner, but did not put down the fire tongs. She walked slowly to the side of the cane and gently touched it. The smooth and shiny dove head on the cane was lifted up, revealing a fist-sized space inside. Ming Huashang knocked everywhere with the fire tongs to make sure that no poison needles would pop out, and then slowly approached: "If I am not mistaken, there was originally a treasure hidden here. It was the treasure that once belonged to the Wei family, the richest family in Luozhou, but was later robbed by the Feng family - Suihouzhu, Miss Baozhu, am I right?"
Ming Huashang tilted her head and looked at Baozhu with a clear and calm gaze: "Or, I should call you Weizhu."
Baozhu lowered her head and said indifferently: "Princess, what are you talking about? I am obviously Baozhu."
"Before you were sold into the Feng family, your parents gave you another name, Wei Zhu." Ming Huashang didn't care about the other party's indifference. She put down the fire tongs, straightened her sleeves, and said, "In fact, I have suspected you for a long time, but your timing was perfect. You were not present when Old Master Feng died, and you couldn't come back when Feng Jue died. Now I think you are really smart. You took advantage of the conflicts among the Feng family and killed every enemy quietly. Even now, even if we know that you are the murderer, we have to avenge you and hunt down those bandits. Wei Zhu, don't you agree?"
Baozhu said coldly: "Princess, you need evidence for everything. Without any evidence, how can you say that I killed someone?"
Ming Huashang smiled and said, "You handled the three murder scenes very neatly. The whole plan was linked together and could be called flawless. But I didn't catch the murderer through physical evidence. When I saw the scene of Grandma Feng's death, I knew the murderer must be someone close to Grandma Feng. This person was more familiar with his living habits than Grandma Feng, and was careful, cautious, patient and forbearing. The second death scene made me sure that the murderer of Feng Qian was... The same person who killed the old lady was a young woman who was very familiar with the temperament of the master of the Feng family, the arrangement of personnel and the layout of the venue. I suspected you at that time, but Feng Kun deliberately broke the tea that old lady Feng drank before her death and kept changing the subject, which greatly misled me. And after Feng Kun died, you were checking the room in another place, and there was no time to return, so I didn't catch you, so you had the opportunity to commit the third crime. "
Ming Huashang paused and added, "It is also possible that the fourth case, the disappearance of the housekeeper, is also related to you, right? I have not seen the crime scene of the housekeeper, so let's leave it aside for now, but the scene of Feng Kun's death was obviously caused by another person. Feng Kun's body was spread out before his death, and his emotions were exposed, which shows that the murderer was an adult man who made him feel threatened. Judging from the position and angle of the knife wound on Feng Kun's neck, the murderer should be about the same height as him, and is a veteran killer, very decisive and ruthless. All signs are consistent with Dong Hai, and then you inadvertently mentioned the bandits and explicitly instructed the government to suppress the bandits. I think, even if I didn't find the secret passage, you would hint at it and lead me to 'accidentally' discover the secret passage under the Zhaixing Tower."
"You manipulated the conflicts within the Feng family, used Feng Lu to testify for you, used Feng Kun to help you hide the secret of the tea, and now you want to use the government to help you kill Dong Hai. All of this happened in just three days. You designed two time tricks in succession, and even we were almost fooled by you. Wei Zhu, you really calculated everything for revenge."
Baozhu raised her eyebrows and sneered softly: "Princess, you didn't produce any substantial evidence, but you insisted that I was the murderer. Do you convict people based on these conjectures?"
Ming Huashang was a little hurt. She relied on criminal psychology profiling to find the murderer. How could it be a fantasy? But she also knew that not everyone could accept psychological profiling. She still had to present the evidence honestly.
Ming Huashang clapped her hands. The coroner stopped at the door and came in with a tray. Ming Huashang lifted the cloth on the tray and picked up a steel needle through her gloves. She looked at it under the light and sighed, "As expected of the Mohist apparatus, it is really exquisite and can kill instantly. I have always wondered how a maid like you could find such a strong poison without leaving any trace. Today, when I saw the iron box, I realized that there is no need to go far away. The poison is clearly right in front of us."
Baozhu narrowed her eyes when she saw the needle still stained with blood, but she still said nothing. Ming Huashang knew that she would not admit it easily, so she said: "I just asked someone to go back to the government office and pull it out from the Dumen acupoint on the back of Old Lady Feng's head. When we came here on the first day, Old Lady Feng said that he spent a lot of money to let the heir of the Mohist School build him a treasure box. There is a mechanism inside. If it is opened without entering the password, poison needles will pop out, and he will send people to inspect it regularly. I'm afraid that the poison needles that were replaced were hidden by you. I heard from Madam Feng that you are proficient in massage. In fact, you are familiar with the acupuncture points on Old Lady Feng's body in the name of massage, so that you can accurately pierce the skull in the dark, pierce his Dumen acupoint with poison needles, and kill him with one blow.
Ming Huashang put down the poison needle, motioned the coroner to put it away, and said: "Now, let's count from the beginning, how did you kill three men of the Feng family without anyone noticing - maybe four. There was a sudden rumor in the Feng Mansion that the thief saint would come to steal treasures in three days. The old lady was unusual and wanted to go to the third floor of the Zhaixing Tower to guard the Suihou Pearl in person. You took advantage of the situation and asked Feng Kun to get tea for you in public. You also followed him to the tea room on the pretext that you were worried that Feng Dalang didn't know what kind of tea the old lady liked. On the way, you must have said something to him, and he was greedy and followed your hint to add medicine to the tea and sent it upstairs to the old lady to drink.
"Feng Kun is dead. I don't know what he put in the tea, but it must not be fatal. We saw Old Lady Feng motionless downstairs. In fact, he was only unconscious, but he was still alive until you deliberately shouted that Old Lady Feng was not feeling well, causing panic among the people. You took advantage of the panic to rush upstairs, and by shaking Old Lady Feng, you inserted a poison needle into his back of the head, and at the same time "You covered Old Lady Feng's mouth to prevent him from making any sound. The poison on the needle was so strong that Old Lady Feng had no time to struggle and died on the spot. Then you cried on Old Lady Feng's body. Feng Qian followed you upstairs and subconsciously thought that Old Lady Feng was dead. Who would have thought that you actually killed Old Lady Feng in front of everyone, almost under their noses?"
Ming Huashang sighed, "It was also our negligence. At first, we saw that Old Lady Feng did not move after drinking tea, and we instinctively thought that the poison was in the teapot, and that the murderer was among those who had touched the tea. Feng Kun deliberately broke the teapot, and then dodged and refused to tell the truth, which greatly misled us. What means did you use to make him willingly protect you?"
Baozhu sneered and disdained to answer. Ming Huashang shrugged helplessly, "Well, since you don't want to talk about it, forget it. The day after Old Lady Feng died, which was the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, you learned that Feng Lu and Second Madam Feng had a quarrel, and went to the waterside pavilion to relax alone, so you avoided being seen and heard and went to the waterside pavilion to find Feng Lu for a drink. This is why I locked the murderer to be a young woman. Feng Lu was so irritable that he didn't even want to see the long-term servant who grew up with him. I think only a young, beautiful and considerate woman can make him willingly open the door. You put a drug in his wine cup under the pretext of drinking with him. After Feng Lu was knocked unconscious, you dragged him to the water's edge and pushed him in. Feng Lu was awakened by the lake water, but he couldn't climb ashore because of the effect of the drug. You squatted on the waterside platform and pushed Feng Lu's head under the water again and again until he was drowned alive."
Ming Huashang was also impressed at this and said, "You are really good at taking advantage of people's mindset and designed two time-delay tricks for this purpose. The first one was the death of the old lady. You advanced the time of death of the old lady Feng, making everyone think that the old lady Feng died while drinking tea. In fact, the old lady Feng was killed when everyone rushed upstairs. The second time, you postponed the time of Feng Lu's death and killed him when the maid went to look for Feng Erlang. During the interrogation, he was actually dead, but you fabricated a conversation between Feng Erlang and the maid to make people think he was still alive at the hour of Xu. Then you ran back to the main courtyard and deliberately checked the room in front of everyone to create an alibi. The authorities were looking for suspects after the hour of Xu, but you were not able to be cleared of suspicion because you did not have enough time to go back and forth. However, the net of heaven is vast and nothing can escape it. You were found by us after all.”
Baozhu listened coldly and said, "If it is true what the princess said, Erlang died before the Xuzheng day. How can a mere mortal like me let the dead speak and let Erlang and the second wife's maid talk in the Xuzheng day?"
Ming Huashang squeaked and said, "You asked the right question. I thought it was you from the portrait during the day, but I just couldn't figure it out, so I didn't arrest you. Thanks to my maid who imitated the crowing of a rooster tonight, and she imitated it so vividly, I suddenly figured it out."
Ming Huashang pointed to the mansion, looked at Baozhu quietly and said, "The secret lies in the parrot you raised. You have always taken care of this parrot. Although its nominal owner is Old Lady Feng, it actually only listens to you. On the fourth day of the New Year, after you drowned Feng Erlang, you happened to run into Madam Feng Er's maid Manao knocking on the door. In a hurry, you let the parrot imitate Feng Erlang's voice and sent the maid away. It can be said that you cleverly created an alibi."
Baozhu remained unmoved: "Princess, you are joking. A parrot can only learn a few auspicious phrases. How can it talk to living people like a human? Moreover, Manao clearly said that when she came to find Erlang, the door was locked from the inside. If Erlang was already dead at that time, how did the murderer get out?"
Ming Huashang signaled the yamen runners
He brought up another tray and took out the contents: "This trick is easy to guess. Your Highness and I figured it out when we first went to the waterside pavilion. The answer is the fishing rod placed on the terrace of the waterside pavilion. We noticed that a section of the fishing rod's line had been cut off. It must have been you who did it. You let the parrot imitate Feng Lu's voice, sent Manao away, and then used the fishing line to wrap around the bolt. From the outside, you pulled the bolt into the lock, cut the fishing line, and pulled it out from the crack in the door, creating the illusion that the door was closed from the inside. The combination of the three factors of a secret room, drunkenness, and being near the water, when others discovered it, they would naturally think that Feng Lu had drowned, and no one would suspect that he had killed him."
Baozhu pursed her lips tightly. Ming Huashang waited for a while, and when she saw that Baozhu had no words to refute, she spoke: "But you didn't expect that when we came this morning and stayed at the waterside pavilion for a long time, you didn't seem to think that Feng Erlang fell into the water accidentally. You panicked a little, and realized that you didn't have much time, so you hurried to kill the butler and Feng Dalang. His His Highness said in the letter that someone hid a needle in the butler's saddle, and he fell off his horse while escaping, and died of blood loss and hypothermia. Let me guess, you must have discovered that the butler was going to run away, so you secretly pinned a needle under his saddle, right?"
Ming Huashang slowly walked to the huanghuali cane, glanced at the mechanism inside the cane, and said, "There was no so-called thief from the beginning. It was Old Lady Feng who was crying thief. He pretended to be provoked by the thief at the bedside, made a big fuss, made the matter known to everyone, and then locked Suihouzhu into the treasure box of Zhaixing Tower in front of everyone. I felt something was wrong on the third day of the Chinese New Year. I clearly said that I didn't want to see it, but Old Lady Feng insisted on opening the treasure. He opened the box to let everyone see that the Suihou Pearl was still there, and then he closed the box with his own hands. How could such a self-righteous person like Old Lady Feng do such heavy work by himself? Later I figured it out. When he closed the box, he hid the Suihou Pearl in the walking stick that he never left his hand. When the midnight came, the Zhaixing Tower would definitely be robbed. At that time, he was the only one upstairs. He only needed to insist that he saw the thief, and when everyone opened the treasure box to check the goods, the Suihou Pearl would be "lost" in front of everyone.
"He made a fortune in silence, which not only made the Feng family the victim, but also allowed him to possess the Suihou Pearl without anyone knowing. You have been staying by Old Lady Feng's side, so you must have noticed his plan, and you followed his mind and took advantage of his plan. After Old Lady Feng swapped the Suihou Pearl, you used Feng Dalang's hand to drug the old lady, and then killed him when he was unable to move, so that you could pass the blame to the non-existent 'thief saint'. From then on, the whereabouts of the Suihou Pearl became a mystery. Mystery, it is hard to say whether Feng Erlang knows it or not, but Feng Dalang obviously does not know it. Today, you only need to find an opportunity to tell Feng Dalang the whereabouts of Sui Houzhu, and then tell the bandits the same, and you can easily kill Feng Dalang with the help of the bandits. When the government comes, you can guide the government to find out the identities of Dong Hai and others, and let the government come forward to suppress the bandits. In this way, the murderers who killed your parents will all suffer retribution. Wei Zhu, am I right?"
Baozhu lowered her head for a while, smiled, and raised her head calmly. At this point, her wish had come true, and there was no need to pretend anymore. Baozhu curled her lips very lightly, and her face suddenly lost the gentleness and caution of a maid. She seemed to have become a different person, with clear and calm eyes, and the patience and coldness of a poisonous snake before hunting.
Baozhu, or Weizhu, said with hatred in her eyes, "They deserved it. I only hate that they died too late and enjoyed ten years of wealth on the corpses of my Wei family. If I could do it, I would have cut them into pieces with my own hands."
Ming Huashang looked at her quietly. She was obviously the murderer, but Ming Huashang did not feel happy to catch her. She killed four people in three days, and also killed a group of vicious bandits. She delayed killing three times and killed people with borrowed knives twice. Her calculations were brilliant. If her family had not been destroyed, she would have become an extremely smart and capable female billionaire.
Ming Huashang brushed her skirt, sat down, and took a sip of the tea served by the yamen runner. She said so many words in one breath that her mouth was dry. After relieving the itchiness in her throat, Ming Huashang said calmly: "Tell me your story, and why Old Lady Feng and Feng Erlang went through so much trouble to fabricate a 'thief saint'. What did they hide?"
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