Chapter 90 Purdue

Ming Huazhang looked towards the source of the noise. Sure enough, in the direction of the rising sun, a white figure was bounding towards him. The autumn sun shone on her, making her look hazy like a crane in the mountains. "Second brother!"

Ming Huachang ran to Ming Huazhang's side, and Ming Huazhang reached out to catch her, but his face was cold. His eyes were as cold as frost and snow, and his body was like ice and broken jade, and he was dignified: "What nonsense, why are you here?"

She was getting bolder and bolder. She was running towards the crime scene even though the murderer hadn't been found yet. What if the murderer was really nearby?

The yamen runners did not expect Shao Yin to be angry, and they were too timid to speak. However, Shao Yin's sister did not seem to be afraid of him. Her eyes sparkled, and she greeted everyone in a generous manner: "Thank you for your hard work, everyone. I am your Shao Yin Ming's sister, you can just call me Second Mother. I heard from the people that you have been here for a long time. It is so cold today, it is hard for you to investigate the case in the severe cold. It is really a blessing for the people of Chang'an to have you. I bought some hot food and hot porridge to give to you to refresh yourself. It is a small token of my respect. My second brother is new here and doesn't like to talk. I hope you can take care of him in the future."

The yamen runners had been frozen for the whole morning, and suddenly heard someone delivering hot food and hot porridge, and their eyes lit up. On the other side of the carriage, Zhaocai was distributing food to people, including Hu Bing, Baozi, Youbing, steamed food... These were all common breakfast foods in the market, not exquisite enough, but they were large in quantity and full of steam.

Ming Huashang had a sweet look and smiled before she spoke. She brought them breakfast, and the expressions of the yamen runners all softened. Ming Huashang smiled and said polite words, calling the older ones "senior" and the younger ones "brother", and soon everyone had a smile on their faces. Ming Huazhang stood in the back, silently watching her get along with everyone, like a fish in water, and she was much more comfortable in Jingzhao Prefecture than him.

After everyone took their food and went to rest, Ming Huashang took out a cup of white grass drink from behind her like a magic trick and handed it to Ming Huazhang with a smile: "Second brother, you have worked hard on the case. Have a drink to warm yourself up first."

Ming Huazhang glanced at her and slowly took the hot medicine drink: "You are good at winning people's hearts."

"This is called how to behave in society!" Ming Huashang said righteously, "Doing things is about being a human being. If you want to get things done, you must always have good relationships with the people around you. You have just taken over as Shao Yin, and you are not familiar with the staff. You have to investigate such an important case. You can't do it without the help of the old people in the government office. There is nothing else I can do, I can only send you some food."

Although sending food was a small favor, it was indeed the fastest way to win people's hearts. Even after Ming Huazhang took a sip of the white grass drink, he could no longer be angry with her.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, Ming Huashang asked, "Second brother, how is your investigation going?"

Ming Huazhang pointed to the deep forest behind and said, "This is the scene of Huang Caiwei's murder that I just had reconstructed. She was found here four years ago. Except for the corpse and the season, everything else that can be displayed has been displayed."

This was a quiet and remote forest. The air was filled with years of dampness, and it seemed that few people came here. Ming Huashang followed Ming Huazhang and walked into the forest to see the scene.

The daughter of the Imperial College's chief academician died, and there was a big commotion, so many people remember it. According to the description of the yamen runners, when Huang Caiwei was found, she was lying beside a tree, her eyes were wide open, her expression was evil, her clothes were torn, her right leg below the knee was bloody, and there was all flesh on the ground, but the bones inside were missing.

Ming Huashang looked at the area of ​​the body traced out on the ground and could almost imagine the situation at that time. She asked, "Second brother, is it easy to peel a human leg bone?"

Ming Huazhang said: "It depends on who you are. If you are a novice, it is difficult to cut off a person's leg. Even the sharpest knife will definitely get stuck in the meridians and cartilage. But if you are an experienced person, you only need to cut the soft tendons in the key areas to pull out the bones intact."

Ming Huachang hissed, his knee inexplicably hurting: "Besides the shin bone, are there any other injuries?"

"Huang Caiwei was the daughter of the chief priest. No one dared to look at her body. It was unclear whether she had other injuries, but the yamen runners said they saw purple marks on Huang Caiwei's wrists, which should have been caused by being tied up with hemp ropes."

If she was tied with a rope, it means the murderer wanted to control her and did not kill her right away... Ming Huashang frowned and asked, "What about her maid?"

"The maid Yuyan fell here." Ming Huazhang walked to the front and pointed to a location. This place was about three steps away from where Huang Caiwei fell, facing the tree trunk behind.

Ming Huashang came over to take a look and said, "This place is so remote, how did they get here?"

"I've thought of that, too." Ming Huazhang said, "Huang Caiwei is the daughter of the chief priest. She can't go out without guards. This forest is remote and quiet, and it's quite a distance from the back door of Pudu Temple. If she didn't want to, it would be difficult to bring her here from the temple without anyone noticing. I suspect she may have an appointment with someone, so she left her guards behind and came to the forest alone with her maid."

Ming Huashang nodded in agreement: "If she is willing to go out of town to meet someone in the jungle, she doesn't look like an ordinary friend. Does she have a fiancé or a lover?"

"It's not mentioned in the testimony," Ming Huazhang said. "I have asked people to investigate her relationships, but after four years, many witnesses are gone and may not be able to be questioned."

Ming Huashang sighed, the most important thing to solve a case is to solve it in time. After four years, many witnesses and evidence have been lost in time. Finding the truth is like looking for a needle in a haystack. But the earliest cases are the most important.

Ming Huashang said: "Can the case of the female beggar be reconstructed like today?"

"It's very difficult." Ming Huazhang said, "No one cares about that case. There is not even a case file. The coroner who buried the beggar woman's body retired four years ago. If you want to know the status of the body, you have to go to the coroner's hometown to find him."

Even if they found the other party's hometown, five years had passed. Whether the old coroner was still alive was one thing, and whether he could remember the beggar woman was another. Ming Huashang sighed, knowing that the possibility was slim, and said, "Second brother, I have seen enough here. Let's go to the latest scene to take a look."

The reconstructed scene is not comparable to the real scene. There are no details to dig out. It is better to start with the recent murder case. Ming Huazhang nodded and led her out.

The latest victim, Chu Jun, died on the official road, not far from here. On the way, Ming Huazhang briefly introduced the deceased to Ming Huashang: "Chu Jun lived in Yihonglou in Pingkangfang. She had no parents or relatives. She entertained guests all year round and had no fixed friends. According to the people in Yihonglou, she went out of the city to burn incense on the tenth day of the first lunar month and did not come back at night. The people in the building thought she was entertaining guests outside and did not take it seriously. The next morning, it was heard that someone had died on the official road outside the city. The madam heard people describe the clothes and realized that it might be Chu Jun. Later, the officials brought people from Yihongyuan to identify her, and it was definitely her without a doubt."

As they were talking, the two of them had already walked to the scene. Ming Huazhang indicated, "Her body was originally placed here. This is an official road with constant traffic. Leaving a dead person here would not have a good impact, so after I checked, I had someone send Chu Jun's body to Yizhuang."

Ming Huachang saw the large pool of black and red blood on the ground, and her eyebrows wrinkled uncontrollably. Ming Huazhang saw it, and calmly stood in front of her and said, "After the people reported the case, I immediately brought people here. I am one of the first people to see the scene. If you have anything you want to know, just ask me directly, you don't have to go and see it yourself."

Ming Huashang shook her head, indicating that she was fine, and asked, "What was her body like when she was found?"

Even though Ming Huazhang had experience in the Xuanxiao Guard, he could only comment on the scene that day like this: "It was very bloody. She was chopped off below the knees, with flesh and broken bones scattered everywhere, and blood all around."

Ming Huashang felt uncomfortable just thinking about this scene. Although she had experienced several cases, the previous murderers were more meticulous, killing people steadily, accurately and ruthlessly, and the wounds were not serious, unlike this time, which was a brutal murder.

Ming Huashang asked: "Was her leg injured before she died or after she died?"

Ming Huazhang said: "The bloodstains are concentrated in this area, and there is no sign of climbing or moving. It should be chopped off after death."

Ming Huashang nodded subconsciously, but suddenly froze: "No, you said cut it off?"

Ming Huazhang responded, somewhat confused: "What's wrong?"

Ming Huashang frowned and thought for a while, then asked, "Are there any signs of being violated on her body?"

Ming Huazhang realized what she wanted to say and shook his head, "No."

"That's strange." Ming Huashang murmured, "Murderous skills will only improve and not regress. Even after four years, the method should not have changed so much. Second brother, are you sure the murderer is one person?"

Ming Huazhang pondered and said, "Your doubts are reasonable. The Jingzhao Prefecture files implicitly stated that the murderer was one person. After reading it, I made a preconceived conclusion, which was indeed arbitrary."

Ming Huashang was afraid of misleading Ming Huazhang, so he hurriedly said, "Actually, I'm not sure either, I just feel it's a bit strange. Second brother, do you know what Chu Jun, Huang Caiwei and others look like?"

Ming Huazhang really hadn't paid attention to this: "Why are you asking these questions?"

"It's just a hunch," Ming Huashang said. "These women have very different identities. We haven't found any connection between them yet. Either they have some kind of relationship with the murderer that we don't know about yet, or these women have something in common and were picked out by the murderer."

Most homicides are committed for love, money, or revenge. No matter how complicated these cases may seem, as long as you follow the relationships of the deceased, you can always find the suspect. What is really difficult is random killings.

If the murderer had no emotional relationship or conflict of interest with the deceased, and simply killed him because they met him, then trying to find the murderer is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Jingzhao Prefecture is now faced with a case that is like a vast ocean with no witnesses, no motive for the murder. They can only find the relevant people and question them one by one, hoping to get clues from the questioning.

But it is obvious that the possibility of catching fish is very small if the net is cast widely without distinguishing priorities. Will the murderer run back to the scene and wait for them to question him?

Ming Huazhang said, "I remember Chu Jun's appearance. I will draw her face when I return. As for Huang Caiwei, I will ask the people from four years ago."

The yamen runners saw Ming Huazhang and Ming Huashang standing in the woods talking. They thought that Shao Yin was chatting with his sister, so they were not interested and did not disturb them. After Ming Huazhang waved, a group of yamen runners ran over and asked, "Shao Yin, what do you want?"

After Ming Huashang brought the food, the yamen runners were much more attentive to Ming Huazhang. Ming Huazhang naturally felt the difference, and he said calmly, "Who of you remembers what Huang Caiwei looks like?"

This... The bailiff scratched his head and said, "When we arrived, she was already dead. All we remember is that her nose and face were bruised and her body was covered in blood. Who could have noticed her appearance?"

That’s right, Ming Huazhang sighed: “It seems that I have to ask the Huang family about these things.”

Ming Huazhang was about to send someone to invite Huang Jijiu when suddenly there was a commotion ahead and an official in red dismounted from his horse and walked towards them in an imposing manner. Ming Huachang noticed that Ming Huazhang's eyes had darkened and his facial expression had become numb. She tried to ask, "What is this..."

Ming Huazhang could not tell his emotions, and said calmly, "Lord Ji, the Jingzhao Yin."

Ming Huashang understood that it was Ming Huazhang's superior. After all, she was an unrelated person, and it was against the court's law to "disturb" Ming Huazhang during the investigation. Ming Huashang lowered her voice and said, "Second brother, I will go to Pudu Temple first and not disturb you and Master Ji. Call me when you want to leave."

Ming Huazhang frowned when he heard this, but Jingzhao Yin was walking straight towards him. Ming Huazhang could not get away and could only remind him again and again: "Be careful in Pudu Temple, keep your maids and guards with you, and don't act alone."

Ming Huashang nodded: "I understand."

After Ming Huashang finished speaking, she quickly slipped away before Jingzhao Yin came over. Zhaocai stood by the carriage and looked around. Finally, he saw Ming Huashang coming back and asked hurriedly, "Madam, where have you been?"

Ming Huashang climbed onto the carriage and said casually, "I'm going to go talk to my second brother."

Zhaocai frowned, really wondering what could have taken so long to talk about. He muttered in confusion: "You just went to see Erlang yesterday, why do you still have so much to say today? You and Erlang are too close."

Ming Huashang pretended not to hear and said to the driver, "Let's go to Pudu Temple and burn some incense for the Buddha in the temple."

She really wanted to know why such a cruel murderer would choose Pu Du Temple.