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, decorated beautifully. 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." Xie Jichuan stood up helplessly, moved behind the table, pointed at the brush and ink and roughly gestured, "This is a unique painting method, called water rubbing method, also called floating ink method. First, fill this small pool with clean water, add hemp ash to the mud, and it's best to leave it for a few hours. Then pick up the brush and tap the teeth, dip it in the inkstone, and let the brush flow on the water. This 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. There is reality in the emptiness and emptiness in the reality. The sense of space and weirdness jumps off the paper, giving it the idea of ​​a mustard seed world or a fairyland in a 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. Xie Jichuan tilted his head and looked at Ming Huashang kneeling in front of the desk, staring at the scroll motionlessly. He couldn't help but be curious: "Sister, are you accompanying me to slack off or are you working on the case?"

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."

謝濟川說：“可能是他畫累了，後面心情暴躁，懶得再畫了？”

“不應當。”明華裳皺眉，喃喃道，“一個人情緒累積到極點後，總該有一個爆發口，不可能突然平息下去。但在這幾張紙中，我沒有看到暴虐發洩，只看到平靜和掩飾。”

明華章聽出些許不對：“你的意思是……”

明華裳腦子逐漸出現一副景象，如果張子雲的屍體沒被搬走，這幾張紙應當正好散落在他身體旁邊。明華裳開口時猶豫了一下，但還是說道：“這幾張稿紙不是張子雲畫的。”

明華章立即反應過來，幾乎和謝濟川同時說出：“是兇手！”

明華章臉色立刻變了，馬上走到桌案邊觀察這幾張紙。就連謝濟川也打起精神，問：“可是，兇手在殺人現場用紙做什麽？他總該不會想畫畫吧？”

明華章盡力不移動其他紙張的位置，小心翼翼拿起一張紙。他舉在眼前，緩慢調整紙的角度，明華裳不知不覺屏住呼吸，問：“二兄，你發現了什麽？”

明華章眸光專注幽冷，說：“這張紙不是平的。”

“生宣本來就不是平的。”

“這不一樣。”明華章示意他們兩人過來看，“你們看中間凸起的部分，像不像人臉。”

明華裳立刻湊到旁邊，謝濟川沒有上前查看的意思，問：“那你有什麽想法？”

明華章手指輕輕轉動，不着聲色對準窗外的光，好讓明華裳更快看到凸處，只分了一小部分注意力給謝濟川：“你都不懷疑我看錯了？”

“你不會無的放矢。”謝濟川道，“既然你說有，我就不浪費功夫了。你覺得這些紙是做什麽的？”

“別忘了，張子雲是窒息死亡的。”明華章道，“我一進來就在找殺死張子雲的兇器，這個屋裏绫羅綢緞很多，看起來很多東西都能捂死他，要不是裳裳提醒，我都沒想到，沾濕的紙其實也可以作為兇器。”

謝濟川挑眉，脫口而出地卻是：“裳裳？”

明華章終于忍無可忍，回眸冷冷瞪他：“你能不能認真點？”

謝濟川攤手，乖順道：“好嘛，然後呢？僅靠一張紙殺人，還是太牽強了吧。”

“一張普通的紙不行，但對于一個陷入昏迷，腿腳不方便，又被綁住雙手的對象來說，一沓濕紙足以悶死任何人了。”明華章手指仔細摸過地上的紙，說，“兇手用紅綢爬入氣窗，打開暗門，之後又用紅綢捆住張子雲雙手，他指甲縫裏的紅絲應當就是這樣來的。有特殊凸起的紙共有六張，應當足以置一個男子于死地，但最好試驗一下。”

“不用這麽麻煩。”謝濟川一點都不想陪他試，說，“我們的目标是找回畫，張子雲到底是如何死的其實無關緊要，兇器有點出入影響不大。如果兇器真的是紙，那兇手會是誰呢？”

兇手就地取材，而且當時張子雲處于昏迷狀态，意味着誰進來都有機會。明華章道：“我們之前不知道這條暗道存在，月狐的監視其實完全沒有意義，只要登上東樓樓梯的人，都有機會不通過門窗，從暗道進入包廂。關鍵在于，那日有誰上過東樓樓梯，并且知道暗道存在？”

前者很多人都有機會，但同時滿足後者的，似乎只剩寥寥幾個選項了。

謝濟川說：“聽天香樓的雜役說，隔間是老鸨修的，她不可能不知道暗門。那日她在天香樓裏安排宴席，全程都在走來走去，完全有機會接近山茶的綢緞并割斷一截，悄悄帶在身上，再趁人不備登上樓梯，按我們試驗的方法進入風情思苑。悶死一個人只需要不到一盞茶的功夫，她完全可以殺掉張子雲後再出現在樓下，沒人會發現她曾消失過片刻。”

見無人反對，謝濟川繼續說出其他佐證：“樓梯衆人反映了好幾次，但老鸨始終不肯換新的，就連酒也是她送的。只有她知道張子雲昏迷了，所以才能大搖大擺打開暗門，就地取材殺死張子雲。如果換成別人，哪怕知道暗道并且能接觸到，恐怕也不敢就這樣進門。還有昨夜，她也出門了，今早很可能是她指使啞奴來包廂試探，若非她心裏有鬼，為何要做這些事？這樣看來，老鸨的可能性很大。”

明華章想到隔間牆上的氣窗，微微擰眉：“可是，以老鸨的身形，應該爬不過通氣窗。”

“她曾經也是花魁，說不定她有獨特身法。”謝濟川道，“而且，啞奴對她忠心耿耿，她還可以利用啞奴。她滿足所有條件，應當就是她，可以将她帶走審問了。”

明華章還是皺眉，從邏輯上看老鸨嫌疑很大，可是他不能忽略事實。老鸨身材豐腴，啞奴即便矮小也是個男子，他們真的能通過氣窗嗎？

明華章起身，說：“不行，我得去量一下窗口有多大，找機會測試他們能不能過。”

謝濟川眉梢挑高，頗為不可思議：“你立了軍令狀，十日內必須帶畫回去，今日已經是第二天了。我們還得防着天香樓将畫轉移出去，剩下的時間根本不多，證據如此确鑿，你還在猶豫什麽？”

明華章還是不能下定決心。他們隐在暗處，這次利益牽扯又十分複雜，他們不會通過正常的官府審案流程，将人帶走審問後，不可能再放出來，這意味着他們一出手就是殺招。

讓一個老鸨意外死亡有很多種辦法，可是，明華章不得不反問自己：“如果我冤枉了人怎麽辦？人死不能複生，一旦我們錯了，那就是一條人命。”

謝濟川頓了頓，意有所指道：“她不過是一個青樓老鸨。”

這種人無權無勢無德，雖然表面上和很多權貴往來，其實死了也不會引起任何人注意，不出兩天就會有新的鸨母頂替她的位置。她能當上老鸨，可見殘害了不少青樓女子，實在死不足惜。

明華章聽懂了謝濟川的言外之意，一時無法回答。他睫毛斂着，陽光在他眼下投出細細的陰影，宛如蝶翼。短暫的沉默後，他很快擡眸，光線飛快掠過他眼珠，折射出琉璃般的色澤。

他眸光堅定，還是固執己見：“不行，是就是，不是就不是，不存在可能。我去量通氣窗。”

謝濟川挑了挑眉，顯然有些失望。這時候，明華裳突然說：“其實，我也有幾個疑點。”

明華章停下腳步，回眸認真問：“什麽？”

明華裳望向明華章眼睛，他眸光漆黑鎮靜，仿佛無論她說什麽，他都會認真對待。明華裳生出勇氣，說：“有一個地方說不通。兇手布置如此缜密，看得出來一定要将張子雲置之死地，那他為什麽不帶兇器，要進入密室後現找呢？”

“她帶了匕首。”謝濟川提醒，“張子雲被發現時，脖子上紮着一柄匕首。”

“但那是為了僞裝張子雲自殺用的道具，和殺人沒關系。”明華裳道，“假設老鸨是兇手，站在她的角度，我實在沒法理解，我要去殺一個十分重要、必須得手的人，進門前竟然不帶兇器。而且，我用濕紙悶死了張子雲，之後将兇器散在廢紙堆中，可謂神不知鬼不覺，那昨夜，我為什麽還要出門呢？官府都定案是自殺了，我還有什麽放心不下？”

謝濟川對自己的判斷十分自信，但明華裳提出來的問題說大不大，卻又着實無法解釋。謝濟川擰眉想原因，明華章輕輕拍了明華裳的腦袋一下，肅着臉說：“破案要嚴謹，不許用‘我’來代指兇手。”

明華裳還以為明華章要說什麽，結果竟然是這種事，她無奈道：“只是打個比方，何況代入兇手的角度，才好發現問題呀。”

“那也不行。”明華章對此意外地執着，臉色冷冰冰的，沒有絲毫轉圜餘地，“我早就想說了，你是你，兇手是兇手。破案是任務，這次結束了還有下次，但你的生活是自己的。你應當像個旁觀者一樣，冷靜理智地觀察兇手、死者，而不是代入任何一方。”

明華裳私心裏不以為意，她又不是小孩子，怎麽會連這種事情都不懂，明華章實在是小題大做。她不忍當面駁明華章的好意，随意點頭：“好。”

明華章神色強勢冷淡，手指按着她的頭頂，将她擰過來對視：“真的記住了？”

謝濟川實在受不了他們婆婆媽媽，咳了一聲，道：“打斷一下，關于老鸨不帶兇器入內，我有一個猜想。她将張子雲僞裝成自殺，可見在她決定殺人時，就已經想好所有環節，所以無需帶兇器。”

“但筆墨是玉瓊準備的呀。”明華裳說，“老鸨怎麽能未蔔先知，知道房間裏有紙呢？”

謝濟川道：“她可是老鸨，張子雲進入天香樓，玉瓊請他去樓上切磋畫藝，老鸨不可能不知道。”

"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.