Chapter 67 Water Extension
Cheers came from downstairs, making the room particularly quiet. Ming Huazhang spoke first: "Search the scene first, don't rush in. No matter who you suspect, forget about them now. Once you find the clues, the murderer will naturally come to light."
Ming Huashang knew that Ming Huazhang was right, and she couldn't make this mistake. Ming Huashang took a deep breath and stopped worrying about who could have entered the secret room. She just treated the murder scene in front of her as a brand new case.
Ming Huashang deliberately returned to the small compartment, pushed open the secret door herself, and re-experienced the scene before Zhang Ziyun's death from the murderer's perspective.
The secret door had not been used for a long time, so it was a bit difficult to push open, and there was a screen in front of it, so it could only be pushed open a small gap.
But this was enough. Ming Huachang entered through the crack of the door, and the first thing she saw was a screen with ladies. The ladies were painted in a magnificent manner, and the bright colors obscured the figures. From the outside, it seemed just a decoration, but who would have thought that there was a secret door hidden behind it.
Ming Huashang moved quietly and carefully walked through the screen. The secret door was built in the bedroom, surrounded by a bed and a dressing table, beautifully decorated. But the most eye-catching thing for Ming Huashang was the long table behind the carved floor-length partition.
There were pens, ink, paper and inkstone on the table. The front legs were stained with dark red, and waste paper was scattered all around. There was a space in front of the table that was deliberately left empty, and a human figure could be vaguely seen.
This is the place where Zhang Ziyun died. From the remaining traces, it can be seen that Zhang Ziyun was leaning against the desk when he died. There were no signs of a struggle on the ground, and there were even very few bloodstains, only spots of blood.
No wonder the Jingzhao Prefecture ruled that Zhang Ziyun committed suicide; his death was indeed too peaceful.
Ming Huashang continued to look at the other furnishings in the room. Behind the pearl curtain was a tea table with a set of exquisite Western wine glasses on it. The glasses looked used, and one of them had even rolled to the ground. It was unclear whether it was an original decoration or was knocked over by the people from Jingzhao Prefecture when they were investigating a case.
Next to the tea table stood an unopened jar of wine. Originally there were supposed to be two jars, but the other jar was half-drunk and had already been taken away by the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Ming Huashang carefully looked at the wine altar for a while, and finally returned to the long desk. There was nothing else, but there was something on the desk that she found strange.
On the desk was a shallow pool, half full of water, with faint ink floating in the water. After many days of idleness, a layer of floating dust had accumulated on the surface of the water.
Ming Huachang couldn't understand the pool and asked, "What is this pool..."
Ming Huazhang was studying the bloodstains on the legs of his desk. Hearing this, he pushed Xie Jichuan and said, "You are more familiar with the water rubbing method. Go and explain it."
"I'm not familiar with it." process is best done in one go. If you add more strokes later, it will be inferior. After the ink is spread, soak the rice paper in the water, take it out and dry it, and then it's the last step, which is also the most important step, to paint."
Ming Huachang was surprised: "Do you need to draw more?"
"Of course." Xie Jichuan said, "Once the ink is put into water, it is completely unpredictable, and the ink marks left are also all kinds of strange. It is actually the most challenging for the painter's skills and ingenuity. If a painter is good at painting, he can follow the trend according to the ink marks left by the smudges and add the finishing touch. A skilled painter can even draw ancient pines, strange rocks, and even people in the water."
It was hard to understand just by listening to it. Ming Huashang admired it sincerely and then asked, "Is this water used?"
Xie Jichuan nodded: "There is ink in the water, it must have been used."
"So doesn't that mean water can only be used once?"
The water used in the water rubbing method needs to be still in advance, and it cannot be changed while painting, which means that there is only one chance to try each time. Xie Jichuan glanced at her and said, "Otherwise, why do you think the water rubbing method is difficult to learn?"
Ming Huashang kept silent and checked the rest of the things on the desk. There was a pool on the left side of the desk, a painting on the right side, and a writing desk and rice paper in the middle.
Ming Huashang noticed the painting as soon as she came in, but she suppressed her curiosity and waited until she had looked at the overall layout of the house before looking at the painting.
At the bottom of the painting is an incense burner with wisps of smoke rising from it. In the smoke there are strange mountains and rocks, ancient pines and immortals. The most amazing thing is that behind the incense burner is a wooden window with smoke winding around the window panes. pot.
The smoke in this painting is created by the water rubbing method. The ink marks are scattered in circles, floating and stretching, unpredictable, and mysterious, which is completely impossible to achieve with human power. The painter's later brushwork is also wonderful, and the strange rocks and pines are completely integrated with the ink marks. It can be said that the great clumsiness and great ingenuity complement each other.
Even an amateur like Ming Huashang thinks it's good. It's a pity that it's only a half-finished product. I wonder how amazing it would be if it was finished.
After Ming Huachang finished admiring the painting, she looked to the side. Many pieces of rice paper were piled up in a mess on the table, and many of them fell to the ground. It looked like someone was copying the incense burner fairyland painting here.
Ming Huashang pointed at the pond and asked, "Xie, Brother, are the ink marks in the water from this painting?"
Xie Jichuan glanced at Ming Huashang coldly: "What misunderstanding do you have about me? I'm not a Daluo immortal, why are you asking me?"
"From the signs at the scene, yes." Ming Huazhang stood up after checking the bloodstains, pointed to a piece of waste paper on the ground and said, "Compared with the painting, the ink marks on this paper are roughly similar in shape, but the gaps between the circles are larger, which is consistent with the diffusion of ink in water. If I am not mistaken, it should be Yuqiong who demonstrated the water rubbing method to Zhang Ziyun, but before the painting was finished, Yuqiong was called by the madam to accompany the guests. Zhang Ziyun was waiting alone in the room. He was a person who loved painting. Seeing this strange technique, he couldn't control his itchy hands and wanted to try it. He took a clean rice paper, dipped it in the pool of water to rub the ink, and wanted to copy Yuqiong's painting, but unfortunately he failed."
Ming Huazhang pointed to the other papers and said, "These are all his failed works."
This speculation was reasonable, and Ming Huachang was convinced. She had never thought that it was possible to infer time from the spread of ink, and Ming Huazhang could even notice such details.
Xie Jichuan seemed to be used to it. He found a place with nothing around to sit down, yawned, and said weakly, "I'm so sleepy. I want to go back to sleep."
"Be serious." Ming Huazhang said with a serious face, "I have signed a military warrant with Han Jie. We must bring back the stolen Daming Palace Map within ten days. This is not a joke."
"Yes, so it's up to you." Xie Jichuan rested his chin on his hand and said lazily, "It doesn't matter whether I'm here or not. I trust you, and whether we can finish the work early depends on you."
Ming Huashang looked at Xie Jichuan in astonishment. Xie Jichuan was very different from the young master of the Xie family that she had imagined. But when she thought about how he slept in class and seamlessly continued the lecture after waking up, Ming Huashang felt that it made sense.
Thank you very much, Jecheon.
Ming Huashang didn't have Xie Jichuan's talent, and she didn't want to push all the pressure onto Ming Huazhang. She sighed in her heart and then did her own thing.
Ming Huazhang was searching for clues, and upon hearing this he glanced at Xie Jichuan coldly.
It's rare that he actually knows that he is being lazy.
Ming Huashang came back to her senses and shook her head slowly: "I was wondering what the painter was thinking at the time."
"Hmm?" Xie Jichuan's interest was piqued. "You can see that, too?"
"Of course." Ming Huashang said, "The writing is like the author, the calligraphy is like the author, and in fact the painting is also like the author. Imagination is the mirror of the author's inner heart, and the painting is even more so."
After saying this, she sighed deeply: "The Jingzhao Prefecture didn't even take away such important evidence. Their ability to handle the case is really worrying."
Xie Jichuan nodded and agreed: "Yes. So, second sister, what did you see?"
Ming Huashang pointed to the rubbings on the right and the scraps around them and said, "These were drawn by two people."
Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows and said in a subtle tone: "Isn't this obvious?"
"Shut up." Ming Huazhang walked over slowly, his face very serious, "Let her finish."
"The painting on the right has bright colors and delicate brushstrokes, but it feels very careful to me, as if something is deliberately suppressed. There are actually many choices for this shape of floating ink, but she painted strange pines and rocks, and a floating fairyland, but added incense burners, window panes and other utensils with obvious smell of cosmetics, which restrained the ink and told the people outside the painting that everything is just a fantasy. I think she was very depressed when she painted this picture. She wanted to have a fairyland on earth and escape by entering the smoke, but she was very pessimistic in her heart, knowing that everything was fake and she would never be able to break free from the shackles. She would wake up when the incense burner was burned out."
This fits Yuqiong's mentality very well. If they have never seen Yuqiong, they can roughly imagine what the painter looks like just based on this description. Xie Jichuan touched his chin and said, "It seems that I can't paint in front of people casually in the future."
After listening for a long time, he concluded these things? Ming Huazhang ignored Xie Jichuan and asked Ming Huachang: "What about the other person's imitation picture? Can you see it?"
"He used too few brushstrokes, so I just tried it out," Ming Huashang said. "His paintings are actually very strange. He had a model in front of him, but he didn't use any paint. All the drafts were in black and white without exception. The black lines were wild and chaotic, which made people feel uncomfortable. I think he must have been very violent when he was painting, and even the lines were full of aggression."
Ming Huazhang asked: "Anything else?"
Ming Huashang pointed at some papers and said, "The higher up the paper, the messier the ink is, which means that as time goes by, his heart becomes more and more restless. But look at these papers, they are clearly stacked on the top, but there are only water rubbings on them, no lines."
Xie Jichuan said: "Maybe he was tired of painting, and then he was in a bad mood and was too lazy to paint anymore?"
"It shouldn't be like that." Ming Huashang frowned and murmured, "When a person's emotions accumulate to the extreme, there will always be an outlet. It is impossible for them to calm down suddenly. But in these pieces of paper, I didn't see violent venting, only calmness and concealment."
Ming Huazhang sensed something was wrong: "You mean..."
A picture gradually emerged in Ming Huashang's mind. If Zhang Ziyun's body had not been moved away, these pieces of paper should have been scattered next to his body. Ming Huashang hesitated for a moment before speaking, but still said: "These pieces of manuscript paper were not drawn by Zhang Ziyun."
Ming Huazhang reacted immediately and said almost at the same time as Xie Jichuan: "It's the murderer!"
Ming Huazhang's face immediately changed, and he immediately walked to the table to examine the papers. Even Xie Jichuan perked up and asked, "But what did the murderer do with the papers at the murder scene? He certainly didn't want to draw, did he?"
Ming Huazhang tried his best not to move the other papers and carefully picked up a piece of paper. He held it in front of his eyes and slowly adjusted the angle of the paper. Ming Huachang unconsciously held his breath and asked, "Second brother, what did you find?"
Ming Huazhang's eyes were focused and cold, and he said, "This piece of paper is not flat."
“Raw rice paper is not flat.”
"This is different." Ming Huazhang motioned for them to come over and look, "Look at the raised part in the middle, does it look like a human face?"
Ming Huashang immediately stepped aside. Xie Jichuan had no intention of going forward to check and asked, "So what do you think?"
Ming Huazhang gently turned his fingers and quietly aimed them at the light outside the window, so that Ming Huachang could see the bulge more quickly. He only paid a small amount of attention to Xie Jichuan: "You don't even suspect that I saw it wrong?"
"You wouldn't be aimless," Xie Jichuan said, "Since you said there is, I won't waste my time. What do you think these papers are used for?"
"Don't forget, Zhang Ziyun died of suffocation." Ming Huazhang said, "I was looking for the murder weapon when I came in. There are a lot of silks and satins in this room. It looks like many things could suffocate him. If Shang Shang hadn't reminded me, I wouldn't have thought that wet paper could actually be used as a murder weapon."
Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows, but blurted out: "Shang Shang?"
Ming Huazhang finally couldn't stand it anymore, turned around and glared at him coldly: "Can you be serious?"
Xie Jichuan spread his hands and said obediently: "Okay, then what? Killing someone with just a piece of paper is still too much."
"An ordinary piece of paper won't work, but for a person who is in a coma, has difficulty walking, and has his hands tied, a pile of wet paper is enough to suffocate anyone." Ming Huazhang carefully touched the paper on the ground with his fingers and said, "The murderer used red silk to climb into the air vent and open the secret door. Then he tied Zhang Ziyun's hands with red silk. The red silk in the gaps between his fingernails must have come from that. There are six pieces of paper with special protrusions, which should be enough to kill a man, but it's better to try it out."
"Don't bother." Xie Jichuan didn't want to try with him at all, and said, "Our goal is to recover the painting. How Zhang Ziyun died is actually irrelevant. The difference in the murder weapon is not a big deal. If the murder weapon is really paper, then who is the murderer?"
The murderer used local materials, and Zhang Ziyun was in a coma at the time, which meant that anyone who came in had a chance. Ming Huazhang said: "We didn't know about the existence of this secret passage before, and Yuehu's surveillance is actually completely meaningless. Anyone who climbed the stairs of the east building has a chance to enter the private room through the secret passage without going through the doors and windows. The key is, who climbed the stairs of the east building that day and knew the existence of the secret passage?"
Many people have the opportunity to meet the former, but there seem to be only a few options left that can meet the latter.
Xie Jichuan said, "I heard from the servants at Tianxiang Tower that the partition was built by the madam, so she couldn't have been unaware of the secret door. That day, she was arranging a banquet in Tianxiang Tower and was walking around the whole time. She had every chance to get close to Shancha's silk and cut off a piece, secretly carry it with her, and then climb the stairs when no one was paying attention, and enter Fengqingsiyuan according to the method we tested. It only takes less than a cup of tea to suffocate a person, and she could easily kill Zhang Ziyun and then appear downstairs, and no one would notice that she had disappeared for a moment."
Seeing that no one objected, Xie Jichuan continued to give other evidence: "People on the stairs complained several times, but the madam refused to replace the new one. Even the wine was sent by her. She was the only one who knew that Zhang Ziyun was unconscious, so she could open the secret door and kill Zhang Ziyun on the spot. If it were someone else, even if they knew the secret passage and had access to it, they probably wouldn't dare to enter the room like this. And last night, she was out, and it is very likely that she ordered the dumb slave to come to the private room to test it this morning. If she didn't have something to hide, why would she do these things? From this point of view, it is very likely that she was the madam."
Ming Huazhang thought of the air vent on the partition wall and frowned slightly: "But, with the madam's body shape, she shouldn't be able to climb through the air vent."
"She was once an oiran, so maybe she has unique skills." Xie Jichuan said, "Besides, the slave is loyal to her, and she can use him. She meets all the conditions, so she must be the one, and we can take her away for questioning."
Ming Huazhang still frowned. Logically, the madam was a big suspect, but he couldn't ignore the facts. The madam was plump, and the dumb slave was still a man even if he was short. Could they really pass through the air vent?
Ming Huazhang stood up and said, "No, I have to measure how big the window is and find a chance to test whether they can get through."
Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows, incredulous: "You have issued a military warrant, you must bring the painting back within ten days, and today is already the second day. We also have to be on guard against Tianxianglou moving the painting out, and there is not much time left. The evidence is so conclusive, why are you still hesitating?"
Ming Huazhang still couldn't make up his mind. They were hiding in the dark, and the interests involved were very complicated. They would not go through the normal official trial process. After taking the person away for questioning, they would not release him again. This meant that their first move was a killing move.
There are many ways to let a brothel owner die unexpectedly, but Ming Huazhang had to ask himself: "What if I wrongly accuse someone? The dead cannot be resurrected. Once we are wrong, it is a life."
Xie Jichuan paused and said meaningfully: "She is just a brothel madam."
This kind of person has no power, no influence, and no morals. Although she appears to be in contact with many powerful people, her death will not attract anyone's attention. Within two days, a new brothel owner will take her place. The fact that she was able to become a brothel owner shows that she has harmed many brothel girls. Her death is not a pity.
Ming Huazhang understood the implication of Xie Jichuan's words and was unable to answer for a moment. His eyelashes were drooping, and the sunlight cast fine shadows under his eyes, like butterfly wings. After a brief silence, he quickly raised his eyes, and the light quickly swept through his eyes, reflecting the color of glass.
His eyes were firm, and he still insisted on his own opinion: "No, if it is, it is, and if it is not, it is not. There is no possibility. I will measure the ventilation window."
Xie Jichuan raised his eyebrows, obviously disappointed. At this time, Ming Huashang suddenly said: "Actually, I also have a few doubts."
Ming Huazhang stopped, looked back and asked seriously, "What?"
Ming Huashang looked into Ming Huazhang's eyes. His eyes were dark and calm, as if he would take whatever she said seriously. Ming Huashang mustered up the courage and said, "There is one thing that doesn't make sense. The murderer arranged it so carefully, and it was obvious that he was determined to kill Zhang Ziyun. Then why didn't he bring the murder weapon with him? Why did he look for it after entering the secret room?"
"She brought a dagger." Xie Jichuan reminded, "When Zhang Ziyun was found, there was a dagger stuck in her neck."
"But those were props used to pretend that Zhang Ziyun committed suicide, and they had nothing to do with murder." Ming Huashang said, "Assuming that the madam was the murderer, from her perspective, I really couldn't understand why I went out without a weapon when I was going to kill a very important person who had to succeed. Moreover, I suffocated Zhang Ziyun with wet paper and then scattered the murder weapon in the waste paper pile, so it was so unnoticed by anyone. Then why did I go out last night? The government has already ruled that it was suicide, so why should I be worried?"
Xie Jichuan was very confident in his judgment, but the question raised by Ming Huachang was not a big deal, but he really couldn't explain it. Xie Jichuan frowned and thought about the reason. Ming Huachang gently patted Ming Huachang's head and said sternly: "You must be rigorous in solving the case. You are not allowed to use 'I' to refer to the murderer."
Ming Huashang thought Ming Huazhang was going to say something, but it turned out to be this. She said helplessly, "It's just an analogy. It's easier to find the problem if you put yourself in the murderer's shoes."
"That won't work either." Ming Huazhang was unexpectedly stubborn, his face was cold, and there was no room for maneuver. "I've wanted to say this for a long time. You are you, and the murderer is the murderer. Solving the case is a mission. There will be another time after this one, but your life is your own. You should be like a bystander, observing the murderer and the deceased calmly and rationally, instead of putting yourself in the shoes of either party."
Ming Huashang secretly didn't care. She wasn't a child, how could she not understand such a thing? Ming Huazhang was really making a fuss out of nothing. She couldn't bear to reject Ming Huazhang's good intentions in person, so she nodded casually: "Okay."
Ming Huazhang looked cold and indifferent. He pressed his fingers on the top of her head and pulled her over to look at him: "Did you really remember it?"
Xie Jichuan couldn't stand their mother-in-law and coughed, saying, "Excuse me for a moment. I have a guess about why the madam didn't bring a weapon. She pretended that Zhang Ziyun committed suicide, which shows that when she decided to kill someone, she had already thought of all the details, so there was no need to bring a weapon."
"But Yuqiong prepared the writing brush and ink," Ming Huashang said. "How could the madam know that there was paper in the room?"
Xie Jichuan said, "She is the madam. When Zhang Ziyun entered Tianxiang Tower, Yuqiong invited him to the upper floor to discuss painting. It is impossible for the madam not to know about it."
"But how did she know what kind of paper Yuqiong would use? How did she know that Yuqiong would be called away by the distinguished guest? How did she know that Yuqiong would perform the water rubbing method and have ready-made water to help her wet the paper and kill people?" Ming Huashang's eyes were blazing, and he said, "Xie Axiong, you have put cause and effect in reverse. You are using the conclusion to reversely infer that the madam killed people."
Xie Jichuan looked careless and playful, but he was actually very proud of himself and thought he was smart. This was the first time someone told him he was wrong. Xie Jichuan wanted to refute, but he was speechless.
He realized that Ming Huashang was right. He assumed that the brothel owner was the murderer and kept looking for evidence to prove this conclusion. But at this point, does the evidence still have any meaning?
Xie Jichuan was silent. Ming Huazhang saw this and looked at Ming Huachang in surprise. He came forward to give a final conclusion to this search: "Well, today we cracked the secret room and found the murder weapon. We have made great progress. Next, we will continue to look for clues and ask the women of Tianxianglou and the indentured slaves about their time and actions two days ago, especially focusing on investigating the madam. Jiang Ling and Ren Yao are still outside to buy us some time. Let's go out first and don't make things difficult for them."
Ming Huazhang decided the direction of the investigation with an almost forceful attitude, and stopped internal doubts. Ming Huashang and Xie Jichuan both acquiesced. They returned to the compartment through the secret passage. Ming Huazhang restored the secret passage and said, "You go out first. I still need to measure the size of the ventilation window. I will leave later."
Ming Huashang said, "The two of you are too conspicuous. Brother Xie, you go first."
Xie Jichuan looked at them quietly, without saying a word, and left the door. After Xie Jichuan left, Ming Huazhang took out the soft rope and carefully wrote down the dimensions of the air vent at various angles, while saying slowly: "Go ahead, what do you want to say?"
Ming Huashang chuckled, fumbled over to help Ming Huazhang, and said, "I was afraid that Second Brother would be lonely, so I stayed to accompany him."
Ming Huazhang smiled softly and did not ask any further questions. Ming Huachang said that she was helping, but in fact, it was all dark and she could not help. She hesitated for a while and whispered, "Second brother, who do you suspect?"
"You just taught Xie Jichuan a lesson. Why are you trying to trick me into making a mistake now?"
"No." Ming Huashang said in a low voice, embarrassed, "In fact, I am more suspicious of Yuqiong. After seeing the death scene and the painting, I am more inclined to believe that it was her."
"She?" Ming Huazhang did not comment. "She was in the West Building that day. Many people saw her. It is impossible for her to cross over to the East Building."
"I really don't understand this." Ming Huashang muttered, "But I really think it's her. The uncertainties I raised when I refuted Brother Xie can actually be controlled by Yuqiong. Think about it, she is a famous courtesan in Chang'an, and Zhang Ziyun is just an unsuccessful scholar. Why did she personally receive Zhang Ziyun? There are so many empty private rooms on the second floor, why did she choose to invite him to Fengqing Siyuan, which has a secret door and is right under her room?"
Ming Huazhang hummed indifferently and asked, "Then what do you think it is?"
"Don't forget that she had been to Wei Tan's party and witnessed his death. It's very likely that she had discovered Zhang Ziyun's trick. Zhang Ziyun also died a few days after Wei Tan's death, and they both had an intersection. I really can't regard this as a coincidence."
"Where's the evidence?"
Ming Huashang pursed her lips and said a little embarrassedly: "There may be evidence, but we need to go to Yuqiong's room to find it."
Ming Huazhang finally couldn't help laughing, and turned around to look at Ming Huachang. Ming Huachang felt a little uncomfortable, and raised her eyebrows and asked, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing." Ming Huazhang said with a smile, "I'm just glad that you are Xuan Xiaowei, otherwise, I might have to go to the yamen prison to find you."
Ming Huashang was annoyed by what he said, and his face was downcast, which clearly showed that he was unhappy. Ming Huazhang knew that he should stop while he was ahead. He suppressed his smile and said seriously: "Shangshang, you should talk about evidence for everything, and not rely on personal prejudice. I will consider your and Xie Jichuan's ideas. Next, I will focus on investigating Yuqiong and the madam."
Ming Huachang looked unhappy
She was about to retort when she heard someone talking outside the door. Ming Huazhang's face suddenly changed, and he immediately grabbed Ming Huashang and hid behind the shelf.
At this time, the door of the compartment was also pushed open, and a beam of light shone in from outside the door, illuminating the vague outlines of the debris.
"It's a rare occasion that the prince is in the mood for gambling. Do you remember where your mother put the gambling equipment?"
"I don't know, look on the shelf."
Ming Huachang listened to the footsteps approaching in despair, cursing Jiang Ling for betraying his teammates. Ming Huazhang tightened his hands and pressed her tightly against the wall, hiding in the shadow of the shelf. The beam of light from the door almost brushed the corners of their clothes.
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