Chapter 68 Painting Screen
No one expected that someone would suddenly come in and head straight for their hiding place. Ming Huazhang didn't have time to think, and immediately hugged Ming Huashang and hid in the corner between the wooden frame and the wall. He leaned on the wall with one arm and quietly pressed the short blade with the other hand.
The wooden frame formed a triangle behind it, which just blocked the light and vision from the outside world. The two women did not expect that there was anyone inside, so they just kept talking to themselves.
One of the women went into the compartment to look for something. It was dim inside and she couldn't even see the road clearly. She stumbled as she walked and complained, "Why are there so many things piled up in there? I can't see clearly at all. Go get a candle."
Ming Huazhang was nervous. If they took the lamp, they would be exposed. Fortunately, the other woman was too lazy to move and said, "It's just taking the dice. Feel around on the shelf and take it out. Prince Jiang is still waiting downstairs."
The woman cursed at him, "you lazy little bastard," but there was nothing she could do. She could only reach out and grope around. She soon found the wooden rack and searched through it.
The sound was so close that Ming Huashang could hear the woman mumbling to herself. The woman gradually came towards them. Ming Huashang was afraid that Ming Huazhang would be seen, so she grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.
However, she was already leaning against the wall, and even if she shrunk herself, the space was still limited. With her pull, Ming Huazhang was almost pressed against her, and Ming Huazhang was not prepared, and looked down at Ming Huashang.
Their eyes met. Ming Huashang looked up into Ming Huazhang's eyes. It was such a tense moment, but at that moment all the sounds disappeared, and the world instantly moved away from her. The sound of the woman rummaging and the noise from the outside world seemed to be blocked out by an invisible barrier. She could only see Ming Huazhang's clear and bright eyes.
His appearance changed, but his eyes remained the same. His eyes were curved inward and outward, which gave him a domineering look, but his pupils were black and round, and they were full of water, like stars and galaxies. Even on a rather ordinary face, they did not diminish his aloof and elegant temperament.
Books describe eyes as piercing, looking and shining. Ming Huachang once thought that was an exaggeration. But now she suddenly realized that some people can really shine.
Dust floated in the light column behind them. Under the light and shadow, darkness seemed to flow. Ming Huashang could clearly hear the sound of his own heartbeat, boom, boom, boom, each beat faster than the last.
It seemed like it wasn't just her heartbeat.
Ming Huashang didn't know how much time had passed, maybe a moment, maybe just a breath. She was so stunned that she completely forgot to react. She thought Ming Huazhang would be the first to look away, but neither of them moved.
A faint bouncing sound came, and Ming Huashang was awakened from the illusion, realizing that things were getting more troublesome. The woman found the dice cup, but accidentally dropped the dice inside. The dice rolled and fell right next to them.
The woman cursed and reached along the wooden frame: "There's another one. Where did it go?"
Ming Huashang leaned against the wall in despair. Ming Huazhang's face was as cold as snow. He seemed to be suppressing something. He turned his eyes away, his fingers pressing on the hilt of the knife.
Ming Huazhang was about to make his move when suddenly, he heard the sound of footsteps outside. A woman ran over quickly, saw the scene inside and shouted sharply, "Wait!"
Both the prostitutes were startled and turned around to look at the newcomer in surprise. Ren Yao calmed down and pretended to be casual, saying, "I asked you to get the dice, why are you taking so long? The prince is getting impatient waiting."
The two women became nervous when they heard this and hurried to please him. Ren Yao snorted condescendingly, waved his hand and said, "The prince wants to watch the dance, and we are still short of two people. You all go down. Where is the dice? I'll get it."
The two of them no longer cared about looking for dice when they heard this. They quickly handed the dice cup to Ren Yao, bowed, and hurried downstairs. Ren Yao stood at the door, watched them go downstairs, and then slowly walked into the compartment.
Practicing night vision is a basic skill for martial arts. She could tell at a glance that the area behind the wooden frame was a blind spot, perfect for hiding people. She walked slowly, looking for the fallen dice on the ground. When she reached the wooden frame, a hand suddenly stretched out from behind and placed a dice on the frame.
This scene was nothing short of a ghostly one. Ren Yao was silent for a moment, picked up the dice, and walked out as if nothing had happened. Before leaving, he even closed the door for them.
Ming Huashang: “…”
Ming Huazhang's shoulders slowly relaxed. He sheathed his knife, glanced at Ming Huachang, and whispered, "Let's go."
Only then did Ming Huashang realize that they were still close to each other. She let go in a hurry, not daring to look at him again, and nodded randomly.
Once something passes a certain situation, its taste changes. There was a lot of footsteps outside, so they didn't dare to go out and could only wait in the cubicle.
There was a silent undercurrent spreading in the darkness. The situation was clearly the same as before, but this time no one wanted to discuss the case. The two of them were silent. Finally, Ming Huazhang made sure that there was no one outside, so he stepped aside and said calmly, "No one is outside. You go first."
"Okay." Ming Huashang also frowned and said, "Be careful."
Only after going out did Ming Huashang realize that she had forgotten to call him brother.
Jiang Ling was about to cry when he saw Ming Huashang coming out. He stared at Ming Huashang eagerly, but Ming Huashang was as calm as a man and whispered in his ear: "Continue to have fun and enjoy yourself. I have something else to find out, and it's up to you to control the attention."
When Jiang Ling heard this, he felt a black screen before his eyes.
He had anticipated that after this mission, he would soon become famous in Chang'an. He hoped that his father would be healthy enough and not be pissed off by him.
Jiang Ling continued to enjoy himself with a tearful face, the sound of dice rolling mixed with the sound of stringed instruments, anyone who saw it would say that he was living a life of debauchery and pleasure. Ming Huashang watched Jiang Ling playing dice for a while, then quietly withdrew and looked for people to chat with in the lobby, looking for clues.
According to Ming Huazhang's arrangement, their next primary targets of investigation would be Yuqiong and the madam, paying special attention to their time and schedule.
Jiang Ling's throat was smoking and his eyes were full of stars from playing dice. At dinner time, he had the food delivered to his room in a dissolute and extravagant manner. As soon as the door was closed, Jiang Ling fell to the ground.
He looked at the quiet and refreshing room in front of him. There was no suffocating scent of cosmetics, and he didn't have to worry about being flirted with by disheveled women. He was simply speechless and choked with sobs.
Even the Heavenly Palace was no more than this. After this incident, Jiang Ling was left with a deep psychological shadow on brothels. He really couldn't understand why someone could linger in a brothel and even stay there for two or three months.
It was only one day, but he already missed Zhongnan Mountain terribly. He would rather go back and run laps than suffer in such a hellish place.
Ren Yao was also relieved. She drank two large bowls of water before she had the energy to ask Ming Huashang, "You guys weren't discovered, were you? I thought you guys were out, so I didn't notice they went to the second floor. I was almost scared to death when I saw you."
Ming Huashang was a little dazed, but when she came to her senses she said, "It was a scare, nothing serious. I'm fine."
"That's good." Ren Yao breathed a sigh of relief, wondering, "What did you find? Xie Jichuan had already left, and I thought you were gone, but you were still here. What was so interesting in that little dark room that kept you there for so long?"
Ming Huachang recalled what happened in the afternoon, and her ears seemed to be burning again. She pretended to be calm and said, "It's nothing. We were discussing the case and accidentally said too much."
There was a slight sound from the window, and a slender figure pushed open the window and jumped down with the evening breeze. Ren Yao saw Ming Huazhang and said, "It's just right that you are here. Tell us quickly, what were you and Ming Huachang talking about this afternoon? You even forgot the time and almost got caught in a jar."
Ming Huashang really didn't expect retribution to come so quickly. She was extremely embarrassed and hurriedly pulled Ren Yao's sleeve: "Sister Ren, it's nothing."
Ren Yao looked at Ming Huazhang, then at Ming Huashang, and instinctively sensed something was wrong: "What's wrong with the two of you? Could it be that only you and your sister can hear these whispers, and we can't?"
Xie Jichuan also jumped in from behind and asked, "What's the whisper?"
If this continues, there will be no end. Ming Huazhang spoke calmly, his appearance as clear as jade, and he was in control: "Second Mother was telling me about Yuqiong's doubts. It was my fault for being careless and not paying attention to the outside world. Thank you for helping me out today. It was my carelessness as a captain."
Ren Yao naturally didn't care about these little things, and waved his hand and said, "It's easy. Don't be too nervous and take everything on yourself. We are a team, and we should help each other."
Jiang Ling said faintly: "That's not what you said to me."
Ren Yaosha glared at him angrily: "Shut up."
With Jiang Ling and Ren Yao joking around, the topic just now seemed to have passed. Ming Huashang sat at the table and secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Before she could completely relax, she suddenly felt someone sitting next to her, and a cold pine scent surrounded her.
Ming Huachang's back was stiff, and she didn't dare to look back. Ming Huazhang's voice sounded calm and rational, without any extra emotions, and he said calmly: "Let's talk about business first. What did you find this afternoon?"
Jiang Ling snorted unconvincedly: "I was stung by those women's perfume powder all afternoon, and I didn't find anything."
Ren Yao also shook her head. She was exhausted just dealing with the madam and others, and she really didn't have the spare energy to look for clues. Ming Huazhang knew this very well. Ren Yao and Jiang Ling were responsible for covering up. What he wanted to hear was mainly the evidence of Xie Jichuan and Ming Huashang.
The room was silent for a moment, and Ming Huazhang said, "Second Mother, you speak first."
Xie Jichuan looked over and said with a half-smile, "Why did you change to Second Mother again and not Shang Shang anymore?"
Ming Huachang was completely embarrassed, not knowing whether to take it as a joke or to explain. Ming Huazhang gave Xie Jichuan a cold look and said, "You are the one who talks too much. Since you can't be idle, then you speak."
Xie Jichuan shrugged and said slowly, "I checked the whereabouts of the madam the night before. Shancha was going to perform a dance that day, which was scheduled long ago. The madam had been shouting in Pingkangfang for a long time and invited many regular customers to come and support the event. Around the time of Xu, regular customers arrived one after another. Tianxianglou had to welcome guests, set up the scenery, and prepare dishes. Everyone was busy and had no energy to pay attention to others. Among them, the madam was entertaining guests the whole time and seemed to be the busiest, but I carefully checked the time of each of them and asked them if they had seen the madam. I drew a picture and roughly calculated the madam's trajectory. There was about a quarter of an hour when no one saw the madam."
Ming Huazhang asked: "When?"
"It was between 2:45 and 3:45 of the evening," Xie Jichuan said. "The camellia had already fallen to the ground, and the red ribbon had landed on the stage, but the madam insisted that it would trip people, so she asked the maid to take it away."
Xie Jichuan is indeed a genius who has become famous since childhood. He spoke in an orderly manner, and even Jiang Ling, who is the most impatient to listen to numbers, understood. After Xie Jichuan finished speaking, he calmly put forward his own conclusion: "The night before yesterday, the madam sent Zhang Ziyun wine with a layer of dream powder, which had a motive to kill people; she deliberately put away the ribbon, and she also knew where the ribbon was placed, so she had the opportunity to tamper with the red ribbon; she walked around in the name of entertaining guests and had time to go to the second floor of the east building; the transformation of the small compartment was also led by her, and she must have known the existence of the secret door and had the conditions to formulate the entire murder plan. The madam meets all the conditions, and the murderer can only be her."
Ming Huazhang nodded calmly and looked at Ming Huashang: "What do you think?"
Ming Huashang exhaled and said softly, "Compared to Brother Xie, I can't produce decent evidence, but I still think it's Yuqiong."
After Xie Jichuan finished speaking, he stared at Ming Huashang with burning eyes. Feng Qing Siyuan's words were the first time Xie Jichuan was speechless since he grew up. The smarter people are, the more they can't accept their own mistakes. Ming Huashang said that he had a preconceived opinion and was looking for evidence based on his opinion, so he brought out enough evidence to prove that he was right.
He prepared carefully, waiting for Ming Huashang to refute, but he heard such a crude argument. Xie Jichuan disagreed, saying, "You and Jingzhan spent so much time in the small dark room, and this is all you have?"
"Yes." Ren Yao also said, "In fact, I also felt that Yuqiong was not right at the beginning, but Yuqiong was clearly called to the West Building. We also tried, and even if she had wings, she couldn't get from the West Building to the East Building. Judging from the evidence, the possibility of it being the madam is greater."
How could Ming Huashang not know? She was like she was sorting out a tangled ball of thread. The front and the back were all connected, but there was a knot in the middle that she couldn't untie no matter what she did.
Ming Huashang was silent. Xie Jichuan was disappointed and asked Ming Huazhang: "What did you say about the measurements?"
"From a scale perspective, the madam's waist is slightly smaller than the air vent," Ming Huazhang said, "but humans are not fragile. Whether one can climb through it or not requires actual testing."
Xie Jichuan said, "That's fine. It's already dark, and we have to go there the next day. There's no time to waste. Let's interrogate the madam. We'll know if she's right after we ask her once."
Ming Huashang suddenly asked: "What if it's wrong?"
Once the madam is arrested and interrogated, their identities will be exposed. If they are right, everyone will be happy. The problem is, what if they are wrong?
Once the arrow is shot, it cannot be retrieved. Even if the criminal firmly denies it, he cannot be let go and he has to be killed.
"If she is wrong." Xie Jichuan's voice was clear and firm, neither hurried nor slow, and his calmness was frightening. "Even if she is wrong, she has harmed so many women, so she deserves it. I have seen the account book of their Tianxianglou, and there is a lot of money from unknown sources. You don't think that the box of medicine in the dumb slave's room was used to deal with the women in the brothel, right?"
Ming Huashang was quiet for a long time. She saw with her own eyes the heavy medicine box under the dumb slave's bed and heard with her own ears how the maid told her companions how they died. She knew that Xie Jichuan was right and that the madam deserved to die. But could the case be decided with just a "nearly"?
Ming Huachang's fingertips pinched into her palm unconsciously. Just when she was wondering if she was too inflexible, a cool feeling came from her wrist. Ming Huazhang took her hand, spread her fingers, and ironed her palm: "Think slowly, don't make it hard on yourself."
His words seemed to have a magical power, instantly calming Ming Huachang's heart. She raised her eyes and said, "I object. The calmness and meticulousness at the scene told me that she was not a brothel owner."
Xie Jichuan insisted: "Where is the evidence?"
"There is no evidence, only intuition." Ming Huashang looked back without dodging, and said, "Feihong Villa, the Wei family mansion, I relied on this intuition when I guessed who the murderer was."
Ren Yao and Jiang Ling looked at each other in bewilderment. One was Xie Jichuan, a genius with a photographic memory, and the other was Ming Huashang, who had never failed in solving a case. Having these two people in the team would undoubtedly be a great help. However, what if these two people had different opinions?
The two men are at loggerheads, neither willing to give in. Who should they listen to?
Jiang Ling frowned and Ren Yao shrugged, and they both looked at Ming Huazhang at the same time.
In fact, Ren Yao was also very hesitant in her heart. When she listened to Xie Jichuan's reasoning, she felt it made sense, but when she heard Ming Huashang's questioning, she also felt that she should think twice.
She had known Ming Huashang for such a long time, and she knew how effective Ming Huashang's insight into people's hearts was. Ming Huashang said something was not right, maybe there really was something wrong.
Ren Yao couldn't judge, so she chose to listen to Ming Huazhang.
Maybe this is the reason why Han Jie sent Ming Huazhang here.
For Ren Yao, admitting that a man is better than her is harder than killing her, but Ming Huazhang is one of them.
Ren Yao couldn't tell why. It might be because every time he encountered a crisis, Ming Huazhang could deal with it maturely and calmly. It might be because Ming Huazhang was admired by so many girls because of his reputation as the Jade Man of Shendu. But every time something unexpected happened, he could sincerely admit his mistakes, even if the fault was not his.
These details accumulated bit by bit, and they became trust. This is how Ren Yao felt about Ming Huazhang. She would hesitate when Xie Jichuan spoke, but if it was Ming Huazhang, Ren Yao would do it without hesitation.
Jiang Ling looked around and said seriously, "How about we eat first?"
God can see that he has not eaten or slept well for a whole day and night. Unfortunately, he is the only one who cares about these needs. The others are motionless. Finally, Ming Huazhang spoke: "Yes, let's eat first. It happens that I also need to think about it."
The meal was eaten in silence. Ming Huashang was the first to put down her bowl and said, "You guys eat first. I'll go check out the scene. If there's anything, use the code to contact me."
Ren Yao tried to stop her: "How much have you eaten? Are you leaving now?"
Jiang Ling held Ren Yao and said, "Let her go. She won't feel comfortable if she can't find evidence. Besides, although she eats fast, she eats a lot."
Ren Yao glanced at the bottom of Ming Huashang's bowl and was speechless for a moment. Jiang Ling was still sighing: "She is really the most carefree girl I have ever seen. Even if she is worried about something, she will not forget to finish her meal. Even if she gets married in the future, she doesn't have to worry about her husband's family bullying her."
Jiang Ling was given a sidelong glance by Ming Huazhang. He touched his face and felt puzzled: "What's wrong? Doesn't your sister want to get married?"
Ming Huazhang added coldly, "She is now in the Taoist temple of Princess Anding."
Jiang Ling squinted his eyes, and it took him a long time to understand the implication of Ming Huazhang's words.
——His sister may really not get married.
Jiang Ling choked and didn't know what to say. Ren Yao picked up a fruit and stuffed it into Jiang Ling's mouth: "Shut up, you are the only one who talks too much."
Jiang Ling spat it out quickly and said angrily, "Did you wash this fruit before you stuffed it into my mouth? What if there's makeup from those women on it?"
"That's a bargain for you!"
"Bullshit." Jiang Ling and Ren Yao had been together for a long time, and began to swear. He wiped the fruit with a handkerchief and complained, "I tell you, I've made a big sacrifice this time. If my father knew, he would definitely beat me to death."
Ren Yao laughed and said, "Don't worry, if you are really beaten to death, I will carry the coffin for you."
"That's unacceptable." Jiang Ling said, "The coffin bearers must be from our Jiang family. If you really want to do that, why don't you kowtow to me? I will reluctantly accept you as my son."
"You're looking for death." Ren Yao was furious and raised his fist to hit him. Jiang Ling had been beaten many times before, so he dodged to the side. As a result, he was fine, but the porcelain plate fell to the ground and broke with a crack.
The air suddenly froze, Xie Jichuan let out a long sigh, and thought seriously about what he had done to make Han Jie arrange him together with this group of people.
Ming Huazhang said helplessly: "Okay, be quiet. You guys continue to discuss, I'll go see her."
Ming Huazhang knew why Ming Huachang left. She disagreed with Xie Jichuan's opinion but could not produce any evidence, so she must have felt bad. Therefore, Ming Huazhang did not stop her, but gave her space to show her strength. After she worked hard, he would be relieved.
But there were people everywhere outside, and he couldn't let her run around, so Ming Huazhang planned to follow her. When he stood up, Jiang Ling was still restless and muttered, "Even if you put this plate back together, you can't see the cracks."
"Are you blind? You can't even see such obvious cracks."
"It already has cracks on it, so what's the big deal about adding another one? Hey, don't make a fuss. I've put it far away, so the people at Tianxianglou won't be able to see it."
Ren Yao looked at him like a fool, but Jiang Ling thought he was right. He stood up and was about to hide the plate, but Ming Huazhang suddenly turned around and stared at him with a frighteningly sharp gaze.
Jiang Ling was startled and almost dropped the porcelain plate on the ground again. He scratched his chin and said, "I just dropped a plate, it's not like I didn't pay for it. You shouldn't look at me like that."
Ming Huazhang still didn't move. Xie Jichuan felt something was wrong and asked, "Jingzhan, what's wrong?"
Ming Huazhang held out his hand to Jiang Ling with a sullen face: "Give me the plate."
Jiang Ling looked at the broken porcelain pieces in his hand and handed them to him without knowing why. Ming Huazhang fiddled with them for a while, then raised his eyes, which were bright and surprising: "I know what's going on."
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