Chapter 88 True or False

The night was cold in late autumn, and it was dark early. The wind blew through the treetops, and the air was filled with the chill and cold. Ming Huashang, wearing a comfortable and warm homely skirt, asked the maid, "Has my second brother come back?"

Ruyi poked her head out from the next room and said, "Madam, I just saw the lights on in Qinghui Courtyard. I think they just came back."

Ming Huashang glanced at the sky and murmured, "Just got back." She raised her voice and asked, "Jinbao, how is the yam and lotus seed soup going?"

"My dear, it's ready and is being kept warm on the stove."

"Put it in the food box and take a stack of osmanthus cake."

Jinbao responded immediately and asked, "Madam, it's so late, who are you sending this to?"

"For my second brother." Ming Huashang stood up, picked up the cloak, gently shook it open and put it on. "He is alone outside, he must be too lazy to eat properly. I will go and bring him some hot food."

Zhaocai walked in and was surprised to hear Ming Huashang's words: "Madam, you want to go in person? It's so cold outside, I'll go there for you, why bother going out to get some fresh air?"

"I'll go." Ming Huashang had already put on his cloak and said, "It's only a few steps away. You don't have to follow me. I'll go talk to my second brother and come back."

Zhaocai knew that Ming Huashang always acted on her own accord, so he stopped trying to persuade her. He picked up the food box and said, "My lady, your relationship with Erlangjun was indifferent before, but it has become closer since you came to Chang'an. Fortunately, he is your brother, otherwise, if you send food to a man so late at night, you will not be able to get married."

Ming Huachang seemed to have been exposed for what she was doing. She glared at Zhaocai unhappily and took the food box from her: "You are the only one who talks too much. Leave the door open for me. If it's too late and I haven't come back yet, you can go to bed by yourselves and don't have to wait for me."

"Oh!" Ruyi and the others laughed, "Madam, I'm just bringing you a midnight snack. It only takes a quarter of an hour to go back and forth. How long do you plan to stay?"

The real reason could not be told to them, Ming Huashang ignored the maids' words, tightened her cloak and pushed the door open: "I'm leaving."

The night of October was cold and hot. Ming Huashang ran to Qinghui Courtyard against the wind. The servant who opened the door saw her and asked in surprise, "Second Madam, why are you here?"

Ming Huashang snorted at the servant and whispered, "Don't make any noise. Walk ahead and don't tell anyone that I'm here."

Ming Huazhang had just changed his clothes when he heard a noise outside the house and came out to ask, "What happened?"

Ming Huazhang opened the curtain with one hand. The light fell from behind him. The backlight made his tall and graceful figure more prominent. His golden and jade-like figure seemed to be glowing in the cold night. Ming Huachang hid behind the servant. When he got close to Ming Huazhang, he suddenly jumped out: "Ha! Are you scared?"

Ming Huazhang had already seen her. He reached out to catch Ming Huashang, feeling helpless: "You are already an adult, how can you be childish?"

Ming Huashang was dissatisfied: "Why didn't you react? Were you scared?"

Ming Huazhang hummed, and pulled her into the house nonchalantly: "Yeah, I was scared. Is it cold outside? Your hands are so cold, if you have anything, just ask the maid to bring it to you, why did you run out?"

"I'm worried about letting them come. Besides, if I don't personally watch you, you will definitely be lazy to eat." Ming Huashang took off his cloak and walked into the inner room with the food box as if he was going back to his own room. "You brought back so many files? Second brother, you've worked so hard. I brought you some hot porridge to calm your nerves. Come and try it."

Ming Huazhang held her cloak, folded it neatly, put it on the table, and motioned the servants to leave. He walked slowly into the inner room, with a half-smile in his eyes: "You came here so late, so you want to bring me porridge?"

People look better under the light than usual. Ming Huazhang is tall, slender and fair-skinned. Standing under the light, he looks even more beautiful, like a painting, rich and aloof. Ming Huachang couldn't help but take another look and said seriously, "Of course, I am most concerned about Second Brother's health."

Ming Huazhang lifted his clothes and sat on the couch. Hearing this, he raised his eyes and glanced at her. His eyes were as clear and transparent as ice, and he understood everything without saying a word. Ming Huachang sat down beside him with a playful smile, opened the food box, and placed it in front of him like a treasure: "Second brother, I know you have worked hard. This is the porridge I made specially for you. I started making it at twilight hour and kept it warm all night!"

Ming Huachang filled a bowl of porridge and Ming Huazhang took it. His fingertips pressed on the white porcelain bowl, which was more delicate than porcelain. Ming Huazhang never ate after midnight, but this bowl of porridge was soft, sticky and fragrant, which suited Ming Huazhang's appetite very much. In addition, Ming Huachang was chatting and laughing beside him, so he ate most of it without realizing it.

As the hot porridge went down his stomach, the warmth continued to rise from his body, and he felt much more relaxed. Ming Huazhang's brows softened unconsciously. Ming Huachang saw that he was much more relaxed, so he asked, "Second brother, how is the case going? Is it going well?"

Xuan Xiaowei's mission was given to the "Shuangbi". Ming Huachang received it, and Ming Huazhang must have received it as well. Perhaps it was because Ming Huazhang was the official person in charge of this case that Xuan Xiaowei included her to maximize waste utilization... No, to mobilize resources.

Ming Huashang and Ming Huazhang are siblings, so it is convenient for them to communicate about the case without having to disguise their identities like in the previous cases. This saves a lot of trouble both internally and externally. Ming Huashang doesn't know whether the other members of the team will accept the task, and she can't just ask them, so she has to come to Ming Huazhang to discuss it.

Ming Huazhang pressed his fingers to his forehead. His fingers were long and slender, and his nose was particularly straight after covering his eyes. Even without any expression, he was very pleasing to the eye. Ming Huazhang sighed with some fatigue, "Today I went to see the scene where the master and servant of the Huang family died four years ago. There is no progress for the time being."

"Oh?" Ming Huashang said seriously, "The master and servant of the Huang family are the victims four years ago?"

"That's right." Ming Huazhang stood up and walked to the desk, picked up a roll of files, and motioned Ming Huashang to come over. "Up to now, there have been three cases with four victims. The first case happened in the sixth year of Tianshou, which was five years ago. The victim was a female beggar who died near Qingshan Temple. When she was found, half of her body had been bitten by wild dogs. It was winter at the time, and the government thought she was frozen to death and then eaten by wild dogs, so they didn't care and just made a note and hastily closed the case.

"Four years ago, Huang Caiwei, the daughter of the Imperial College's chief priest, went to Qingshan Temple with her maid Yuyan to burn incense. After that, her whereabouts were unknown. The Imperial College's chief priest came to look for her that night, so her body was well preserved when it was found, but Huang Caiwei's right leg and the maid's left leg bones were missing. The officials then thought of the case of a female beggar the year before, who also had no legs. It is very rare to take the shin bone when committing a crime. Jingzhao Prefecture suspected that the same murderer committed the crime, but because there were no witnesses, the investigation was very difficult. Jingzhao Prefecture searched intensively for several months but could not find the murderer, and finally the case was left unsolved."

Ming Huashang took the file. The record of the female beggar was almost blank, but the record of Huang Caiwei was much more detailed. Ming Huashang asked, "Where is Qingshan Temple?"

"It is the Pudu Temple today." Ming Huazhang said, "After the murder four years ago, the reputation of Qingshan Temple was greatly affected. In order to attract more worshippers, they changed the name to Pudu Temple."

Ming Huashang nodded slowly and asked, "I remember this case was related to the Pudu Temple?"

"Yes." Ming Huazhang pulled out another file. "The victim this time was named Chu Jun, a prostitute from Pingkangfang. She was found on the official road from Pudu Temple to Chang'an, with both legs cut off below the knees by a sharp weapon. The city gates were open at the time, and many people on the way saw it. It was exactly the same as the case four years ago, so rumors of a serial killer spread among the people."

Ming Huashang responded, saying, "A beggar, an official's wife, a prostitute, there is no connection between the identities of the deceased. The only intersection is Qingshan Temple. It seems that the murderer is related to Qingshan Temple."

"I thought so too. After seeing the scene today, I went to Pudu Temple to question them. But there are more than 30 monks in Pudu Temple, and countless pilgrims. There are no eyewitnesses in these three cases. If we question them one by one, it will take a lot of time and it will be difficult to find the murderer."

It would be great if the scope could be narrowed down. I guess this is why Xuan Xiaowei asked Ming Huashang to join this case.

Ming Huashang asked, "It takes me a lot of effort to remove the bones of a chicken. In these cases, the murderer cut off the human leg bones, which must be more time-consuming and laborious. Is the crime scene the primary scene? Did the murderer dig the bones somewhere else and then move the body to the place where it was found, or did he remove the bones here?"

Ming Huazhang said, "There is no record of the beggar case. Although the testimony of Huang Caiwei's case is detailed, the coroner did not dare to perform an autopsy because Huang Caiwei was the daughter of the chief priest. The crime scene and the condition of the body are vague. Tomorrow I will go to the old yamen runner and maybe I can find the person who handled it four years ago. When I arrived at the Chu Jun case, the scene had been destroyed by people and cars. I couldn't identify footprints, but the surrounding soil was full of blood. The deepest part of the blood was more than four inches. If the body was moved here, there shouldn't be so much bleeding. I guess the scene of the report should be the scene of dismemberment."

Ming Huashang nodded slowly. She looked at the file for a long time and asked, "Are these the only records about the beggar women five years ago?"

"That's all," Ming Huazhang said. "She had no home to return to, no parents or relatives to seek justice for her, and this was her first case. Jingzhao Prefecture didn't realize it was a murder, so they just wrote it off as an accidental death and disposed of the body."

Ming Huashang sighed and said with great regret: "The first few cases in the serial murders were the most important. It's a pity that nothing is left."

Ming Huazhang looked at her porcelain-like profile under the lamp. She was the kind of person who would get tired after studying music, chess, calligraphy and painting for just a stick of incense, but now she was reading files over and over again under the lamp without any sign of impatience.

Ming Huazhang's heart softened and he asked, "Aren't you scared to see these things so late at night?"

"If I were afraid, I should have caught the murderer earlier." Ming Huashang did not raise her head, and scrutinized the suspect's testimony in the case file word by word, saying, "After four years, he committed a crime again. I have a hunch that the murderer will not stop and will commit crimes again. Finding him as soon as possible so that everyone can go out with peace of mind is the way to resolve fear."

Outside the window, the autumn wind was howling, and inside the window, the light was like a boat, swaying and illuminating the desk. The desk was piled with files, and Ming Huashang was reading one by one, and accidentally touched a pair of jade-like hands. Ming Huashang looked up and saw Ming Huazhang was also reading the case file, and the two of them were unknowingly very close.

Ming Huazhang ignored Ming Huachang who was almost leaning on him and asked, "Can you draw a portrait of the murderer?"

Ming Huashang was startled and said quickly, "I have never seen the scene, so I dare not make a judgment on who the murderer is based on the records on paper. Even if I dare to say it, do you dare to believe it, brother?"

"What else do you need?"

Unlike Ming Huachang, Ming Huazhang still sat upright, looking as dignified as bamboo and as pure as jade from the side. In her impression, her second brother was always a proud, self-disciplined, cold and aloof boy who didn't pay much attention to others. She didn't know when he lost his arrogance and became emotionally stable and calm. No matter what he encountered, he was calm and composed, only asking how to solve the problem, not how difficult or unfair the task was.

He is becoming more and more reliable and more and more like a "brother".

Ming Huashang thought so, then leaned on his shoulder, closed her eyes and said: "At least we need to see the crime scene, the more restored the better, as well as the condition of the deceased's body, what injuries it had when it was found, how it was laid out, and it would be best if we could see the beggar who was murdered five years ago. And the victim's personality, family, itinerary..."

Ming Huazhang thought for a moment and said, "I will go find the coroner and the bailiff who handled the case four or five years ago and ask them to lay out the situation at the scene and find a chance to take you to see it. As for the last question, beggars have no fixed place to live, so it may not be possible to ask them. Huang Jijiu has many students in the court and his family is very strict. I am afraid he will not cooperate with the questioning. But you don't have to worry. I will do his work and you just need to prepare questions. Chu Jun's situation is the easiest to check. I will send someone to Pingkangfang to inquire tomorrow."

After Ming Huazhang finished speaking, he asked curiously, "You are painting a portrait of the murderer, why do you ask about the deceased's personality?"

"The families and identities of the dead people are very different, and they don't know each other. It can be seen that the murderer killed people not for money, love, or hatred, but out of some psychological needs. In this case, by finding out the characteristics of the victims, we can dig out what fantasy the murderer wants to fulfill. At this point, it's not far from finding him." Ming Huashang finished speaking and asked, "Second brother, these things are trivial and laborious. Aren't you afraid that I won't be able to draw it in the end, wasting your time in vain?"

Ming Huazhang smiled softly and said, "I made the decision. If the murderer is not found in the end, it is because of my wrong decision. It has nothing to do with you. You just need to follow your heart."

Ming Huashang felt even more guilty. She opened her eyes and said seriously, "Second brother, I will definitely help you find him."

Ming Huazhang lowered his eyes and saw her face close to him. His eyes softened unconsciously. He held her head and helped her sit up. He said, "Go back to sleep if you feel tired. I'll remind you when there's new evidence."

Ming Huashang looked at the densely packed files on the table and knew that Ming Huazhang was going to finish reading them all. With so many things, wouldn't it take until midnight? Ming Huashang said, "I'll keep you company."

Ming Huazhang glanced at her calmly and said, "If I saw you at midnight, would you leave at midnight? If my father and grandmother heard about it, I would not be able to explain. Don't worry, I know what's going on. Just go back and sleep peacefully."

Ming Huashang still refused to leave, so Ming Huazhang stopped discussing with her, grabbed her waist, picked her up, and walked out of the house. Ming Huashang was startled when her feet left the ground, and hurriedly said, "What are you doing? Put me down!"

Ming Huazhang didn't care, he carried her to the main room, put her on the table, and covered her head with a cloak. Ming Huachang struggled to move, and said angrily: "You've hurt my hair, let me go, I can walk by myself!"

Seeing this, Ming Huazhang stepped aside. Ming Huashang jumped down from the table, tugged at his cloak, and said, "You are repaying kindness with hatred. I came to see you with good intentions, and you treat me like this?"

Ming Huazhang had already picked up the lamp. Hearing this, he glanced at her and said, "What did I do to you?"

Ming Huashang saw his eyes, which were calm, clear, and straightforward, and quite brave and fearless, as if he was going to throw away all hope, and simply carried her back to the room. Ming Huashang was frightened, and grabbed the straps of her cloak, shaking her head weakly and flatteringly: "It's okay, I was just talking casually."

Ming Huazhang glanced at her again, and without continuing the topic, he pushed the door open and sent her back to the courtyard. On the way, the two of them were inexplicably silent, the autumn wind blew past them, the fallen leaves rustled, and the sound of rustling rose up. Ming Huazhang stopped in front of the courtyard gate, put the lamp in Ming Huachang's hand, and said, "Go back, don't think about it, go to bed early."

Ming Huashang nodded, said "Second brother, you should go to bed early too", and then closed the door carefully. Before the door closed, she saw Ming Huazhang's dark and calm eyes. She was sure that for a moment just now, he really wanted to carry her out and expose the matter in front of the elders.

But why? Ming Huachang knew she was a fake daughter through a prophetic dream. She was sure she had never told anyone about it. In Ming Huazhang's mind, they should be brother and sister. Why did he do this?