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 motioned 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 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. The servants of the Feng family didn't dare to blame Ming Huachang, but they were also at a loss and numb. They didn't know What to do. Baozhu 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 cautiously stand 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. They rushed forward to support, but the group was extremely fierce. They lost several people in succession and could not stop them. They watched the group open the gate bolt and escape. Fortunately, King Yong came soon and rescued the 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. The two of them had a conflict, and the bandits 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."

侍衛抱拳退下。他合上門，簌簌風雪被毫不留情關在外面，屋內靜得只能聽到博山爐裏的哔剝聲。寶珠斟酌着言辭，輕聲道：“今夜天氣這麽差，雍王還親自帶兵剿匪，真是愛民如子。”

“是啊，他向來如此，眼睛裏容不得一粒沙子。”明華裳掀開博山爐，用火鉗撥弄香灰，說，“匪自然是要剿的，但殺人兇手，也不能放過。”

寶珠皺眉，十分不解：“王妃，不是山賊殺害了老太爺、二郎和大郎嗎？”

明華裳對此笑了笑，回頭，眼眸清淩淩直視着寶珠：“封锟确實是山賊殺的，但他們只是刀，真正引他們入局的另有其人。寶珠，你說是不是？”

寶珠沉默了一會，淡淡垂下眼睫：“王妃，奴婢不懂您在說什麽。”

明華裳合上香爐蓋，卻沒有放下火鉗，她悠悠踱步到拐杖邊，在某個地方輕輕一碰，拐杖上方光滑水亮的鸠首竟然掀開了，露出裏面拳頭大的空間。明華裳用火鉗到處敲了敲，确定不會彈出毒針後，才慢慢靠近：“要是我沒猜錯，這裏原本藏着一件至寶，正是曾經屬于洛州首富衛家，後來卻被封家強取豪奪的寶物——随侯珠，寶珠姑娘，我說的對不對？”

說着，明華裳歪頭，注視着寶珠的視線清澈而從容：“或者，我應該叫你，衛珠。”

寶珠低着頭，漠然道：“王妃，您在說什麽，奴婢明明是寶珠。”

“在你被賣入封家前，你的父母給你取了另一個名字，叫衛珠。”明華裳不在意對方的冷淡，她将火鉗放下，随手理了理袖口，說，“其實我早就懷疑你了，但你的時間很完美，封老太爺死時你不在場，而封铻死時你又趕不回來。現在想來你實在很聰明，你利用封家人的矛盾，不動聲色殺死了每一個仇人，哪怕現在，我們就算知道了你才是兇手，也不得不替你報仇，追殺那群土匪。衛珠，你說是不是？”

寶珠冷淡道：“王妃，凡事要講證據。無憑無據，你憑什麽說我殺了人？”

明華裳笑了笑，道：“三個命案現場你處理得非常幹淨，整個算計環環相扣，稱得上天衣無縫，但是我抓兇手，并不通過物證。我看到封老太爺死亡現場時，就知道兇手必是封老太爺身邊人。這個人比封老太爺更熟悉他的生活習慣，而且細心謹慎，耐心隐忍。第二個死亡現場讓我确定，殺封铻的兇手和殺老太爺的是同一個，并且是位年輕女子，非常熟悉封家的主子性情、人手安排和場地布置。那時我就懷疑你了，但封锟故意打碎封老太爺死前喝過的茶，并且一直轉移話題，極大誤導了我。而且封铻死後你在另一個地方查房，從時間上看來不及折返，我就沒有抓你，因此讓你有機會做第三案。”

明華裳頓了頓，補充道：“也有可能是第四案，管家的失蹤，也和你有關吧？我沒見到管家的案發現場，暫且不論，但封锟的死亡現場很明顯是另一個人做的。封锟死前肢體張開，情緒外放，可見兇手是個讓他覺得有威脅的成年男子。看封锟脖頸刀口的位置和角度，行兇者應該和他差不多高，是個殺人老手，十分果斷狠辣。所有跡象都符合董海，之後你果然不經意提起山賊，明示官府去剿匪。想來，就算我沒發現密道，你也會旁敲側擊，引導我‘偶然’發現摘星樓下有暗道吧。”

“環環相扣，一步一算計，你就這樣操縱着封家內部的矛盾，利用封铻為你作證，利用封锟幫你隐瞞茶水的秘密，現在，還要利用官府幫你殺掉董海。這一切，只發生在短短三天內。你接連設計了兩個時間詭計，連我們都差點被你騙過去，衛珠，你為了複仇，可真是機關算盡。”

寶珠挑眉，輕輕嗤了一聲：“王妃沒有拿出任何實質性的證據，就非說我是殺人兇手。莫非你給人定罪，就憑這些臆想？”

明華裳有些受傷，她靠犯罪心理畫像找兇手，怎麽是臆想了呢？但她也知道不是所有人都能接受心理畫像這一套，她還是老老實實上證據吧。

明華裳拍手，仵作不知何時停在門口，捧着一個端盤進來了。明華裳掀開端盤上的布，隔着手套将一枚鋼針拈起來，在燈下看了看，嘆道：“不愧是墨家的機關，果然精巧絕倫，見血封喉。我先前一直想不懂你一個內宅丫鬟，從哪裏能不留痕跡地找來劇毒，今日看到鐵匣才意識到，何必舍近求遠，下毒之物分明就在眼前。”

寶珠看到那根還沾着血跡的針，眸光眯了眯，還是不說話。明華裳知道她不會輕易承認，便道：“這是剛才我讓人回府衙，從封老太爺後腦啞門穴裏拔出來的。我們第一天來時封老太爺就說過，他斥重金讓墨家傳人給他打造了一個藏寶匣，裏面配有機關，不按密碼打開就會彈出毒針，并且他定期會派人檢修。替換出來的那些毒針，恐怕，就被你藏起來了吧。聽封二太太說你精通按摩，其實你是借着按摩的名義熟悉封老太爺身上的穴位，這樣，才能在黑暗中精準地穿過顱骨，用毒針紮入他的啞門穴，一擊斃命。

明華裳放下毒針，示意仵作收好，說道：“現在，我們從頭算算，你是怎麽神不知鬼不覺殺死封家三個男人——或許是四個的。封府突然鬧出盜聖三日後要來竊寶的傳言，老太爺一反常态，要親自去摘星樓三樓守着随侯珠。你将計就計，在衆目睽睽之下托封锟替你取茶，又借口擔心封大郎不知道老太爺喜歡什麽茶，跟着他去茶房。路上，你應當和他說了什麽，他貪心大動，順着你的暗示在茶水裏加了藥，并送上樓給老太爺喝。

“封锟已死，我不知道他在茶水中加了什麽，但想必不會致死。我們在樓下看到封老太爺不動彈了，其實他僅是昏迷，人還活着，直到你故意喊出封老太爺不對勁，引發了衆人的恐慌。你趁着這股恐慌沖上樓，借着搖晃封老太爺的動作将一根毒針插入他的後腦，同時捂住封老太爺的嘴，不讓他發出聲音。那針上的毒極好，封老太爺來不及掙紮，當場斃命，随後你伏在封老太爺身上哭，封铻緊随其後上樓，看到這副樣子，下意識以為封老太爺死了。誰能想到，你其實是當着所有人的面，近乎在大家眼皮子底下殺死封老的呢？”

明華裳說着嘆息：“也是我們疏忽，最初我們看到封老太爺喝茶後就不動彈了，出于慣性覺得毒下在那壺茶裏，認為兇手就在接觸過茶的人裏。而封锟故意打碎茶壺，之後躲躲閃閃不肯說實話，極大誤導了我們。你到底是通過什麽手段，讓他心甘情願掩護你？”

寶珠冷笑一聲，不屑于回答。明華裳聳聳肩，無奈道：“好吧，既然你不願意說就算了。封老太爺死後第二天，也就是初四，你得知封铻和封二太太發生争吵，獨自去水榭散心，就避開耳目去水榭找封铻喝酒。這也是我鎖定兇手是個年輕女子的原因，封铻煩躁得連一起長大的長随都不想見，想來唯有一個年輕美麗、善解人意的女子，能讓他心甘情願開門了。你借口陪他喝酒，在他的酒盞裏加了迷藥，封铻被迷暈後，你将他拖到水邊推下去，封铻被湖水嗆醒，卻因為迷藥的作用無法爬上岸。你就蹲在水榭臺子上，一次又一次把封铻的頭按下水面，直到他被活生生溺死。”

說到這裏明華裳也很佩服，道：“你實在很擅長利用人的思維定勢，為此設計了兩個延時詭計。第一個是老太爺的死，你提前了封老太爺的死亡時間，讓大家以為封老太爺在喝茶時就死了，實際上在衆人沖上樓時封老太爺才被殺死。而第二次你卻推後了封铻的死亡時間，在丫鬟去找封二郎問話時，他其實已經死了，但你制造了封二郎和丫鬟的對話，讓人誤以為他在戌時正還活着，随後你跑回主院，故意在所有人面前查房，制造不在場證明。官府尋找戌正以後的嫌疑人，你因為往返時間來不及，得以排除嫌疑。然而，天網恢恢，疏而不漏，你終究棋差一招，被我們找到了。”

寶珠冷冷聽着，道：“如果真按王妃所說，二郎是戌正前死的，奴婢一介凡人，如何能讓死人開口，在戌正讓二郎和二太太的丫鬟對話？”

明華裳啧聲，說道：“你這個問題問對了，白日我通過畫像覺得是你，但就是想不通這一點，才沒有逮捕你。多虧我的丫鬟今晚玩鬧時學雞叫，學得簡直惟妙惟肖，我才突然想明白。”

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 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?"