Chapter 98 Imitation

Inside the Prince of Wei's mansion, the charcoal fire made the room as warm as spring. The Prince of Wei sat on the couch and asked with a frown, "Did you do the Cheng family case?"

The subordinate was also confused about this and said, "No. No matter how reckless I am, I will not dare to touch the wife of Duke Cheng."

"That's strange." King Wei frowned deeply, "If you didn't do it, why did Tongjifang find the body?"

At first, the King of Wei just wanted to find a case to catch the two Bis and relieve his hatred, so he picked the most difficult serial murder case with the least evidence among the previous unsolved cases. He asked his subordinates to imitate the murder methods in the case, pretending to be the serial killers four years ago, and then waited at the scene, waiting for the two Bis to fall into his trap.

However, he waited for more than ten days without finding the twins. Instead, he heard that another murder had occurred in the city. The murderer had killed two people in one month, which showed how rampant he was. This case quickly alarmed the empress and had now become the biggest event in the court.

The King of Wei was also confused. The case in the city was not committed by his people. Who could be the murderer? The King of Wei realized that something was wrong. He just wanted to kill someone with a borrowed knife and did not want to bring trouble to himself. He must not be implicated in this case.

It would be a joke if Jingzhao Prefecture traced the case back to him through the brothel girl and pinned the previous cases on him as well, making him the scapegoat for the real murderer.

The King of Wei said, "You should manage your subordinates well and ask the person who did this to keep a low profile and not show up in the capital before the New Year. This case has been brought to the attention of my aunt, and whoever is involved will be in trouble."

The subordinate clasped his fists and replied. Speaking of this, the King of Wei couldn't help but ask: "How is the jade-breaking process going? Is there any clue about the person?"

The subordinate looked embarrassed and said cautiously, "Your Highness, I have sent elite soldiers to guard outside the city for several days. Except for the first few days when someone from Jingzhao Prefecture came, no one approached since then. Now that a murder has occurred in the city, even Jingzhao Prefecture is not going there anymore."

King Wei frowned: "Impossible, could it be that there is a traitor among us who has leaked the plan?"

The subordinate thought for a moment and said with courage: "Your Highness, we know the inside story, but outsiders do not. Now the people of Chang'an all think that these two cases were committed by the same person. Could it be that the two brothers went directly to Tongjifang?"

This guess is very likely. The King of Wei's mood is hard to describe for the moment. He was sitting by the tree and waiting for the rabbit, but the rabbit hit another tree post. Should he drag them to move too?

The King of Wei was helpless, but he had to adjust his plan: "Send some people to Tongjifang to keep an eye on it."

The subordinate clasped his fists, but his face was not relaxed. Finding someone outside the city is completely different from finding someone inside the city. They initially chose to act near the official road because there was a large flow of people on the official road. They could easily get close to the crime scene by pretending to be a caravan entering the capital. This was a deliberate opportunity they provided to Shuangbi. But at the same time, the environment outside the city was empty, and if someone approached, they would be able to quickly discover it.

This should have been the best trap, but someone followed them and messed up everything, causing their plan to fail and they had to move to the city temporarily. There were a million people in Chang'an, and if you count the merchants and foreigners, the number would be even higher. Tongjifang was close to the city gate, and there were all kinds of people, how could they find it?

The subordinates were troubled, but the King of Wei didn't take it to heart. The plan of dying with honor was a trivial matter after all, and the King of Wei was more concerned about the descendants of Prince Zhang Huai.

The King of Wei asked, "Did you get anything from the orphan?"

The subordinate became more and more insecure, and chose his words carefully: "Everything is normal at the Su family. Ming Huazhang of the Ming family is in the city every day handling cases. Apart from being too busy, there is nothing special about him. His sister just remembers to eat all day, and there is nothing special about her."

Actually, the subordinate lied a little. When the masters said "keep an eye on them", it was always very simple. However, this kind of thing is not something that can be written down by just talking. It requires someone to be outside the other party's house for 12 hours a day, waiting for a moment. It is a little easier to keep an eye on them in the summer, but now it is autumn and winter. Who would be willing to stand in the severe cold all day and have to hand over the next morning?

Ming Huazhang and Ming Huashang are two extremes. The elder brother is particularly aggressive. He goes out at sunrise and returns at sunset every day, running to five or six places a day. The people who were following him could no longer run, so they reduced their intensity. Anyway, he was either handling a case or working on a case. They could find out his whereabouts by asking the Jingzhao Prefecture afterwards. There was no need to keep an eye on him personally.

The younger sister was too lazy. She either ate or bought food for her brother. The palace's assassins followed her around the restaurant, and their resentment grew. Such a useless person was not worth monitoring. The people below flexibly reduced the tracking time. The people who went to monitor her every morning got up later and later. After all, if they went early, they would just watch her buy breakfast in various ways, which was really no different.

The King of Wei frowned, obviously very dissatisfied with the result. Thinking of the empress who had been increasingly moody recently, he sighed and said, "Forget it. More haste makes waste. We can't be impatient with this kind of thing. Keep watching."

"Yes, sir."

The murder of the daughter of Duke Cheng shocked Chang'an, but as time passed, new things emerged one after another, and people's attention shifted, and they soon forgot about the murder. In a blink of an eye, another ten days passed.

It is already November, the days are getting shorter, the grass is withered, the north wind is strong, some snow fell in the past two days, and winter has come all of a sudden.

When Ming Huashang got up today, the sky was gloomy and dark, with clouds hanging very low, and it looked like it was going to snow again. Someone from the old lady came to tell him that there was no need to pay respects today, so Ming Huashang lay down with peace of mind and took another nap before getting up.

Jinbao was setting out breakfast outside, while Zhaocai and Jixiang were in the inner room, tidying up Ming Huashang's hair. Ming Huashang asked, "When did you leave today, brother?"

Ruyi came in with a piece of charcoal, and lit the Boshan stove, saying, "You left before the third drumbeat had died down. These days, Erlang has been leaving early and returning late, and we can't even see him. It's a pity that he was sent to Jingzhao Prefecture. No one has taken credit for his hard work."

Ming Huashang said: "His Majesty is very concerned about this murder case and has strictly ordered that it be solved before the end of the year. It is already November and he is busy with the case. How can he take care of other things?"

"That's why I'm standing up for Erlangjun." Ruyi pouted. "Among the Jinshi candidates, the top one is studying and compiling history in the History Bureau, he is noble and respectable, and the third one is also in the East Palace, he only needs to read books and talk with famous scholars every day, and then he can go to the government office. Only our Erlangjun has to work day and night, running around everywhere, wasting his energy and getting no thanks. Obviously, Erlangjun ranks second among the Jinshi candidates, his ranking is much higher than others!"

Ming Huashang thought that the empress did not grant officials according to rank, so she said, "Second brother has always wanted to do practical things, and going to Jingzhao Prefecture is also what he wants. It is better to redress the grievances of the living than to write letters to the dead."

At this time, Jinbao called out from outside: "My wife, breakfast is ready."

"Okay." Ming Huashang responded and walked out of the inner room. She sat down at the table with her skirt folded, picked up her chopsticks and asked, "Have the things from Jingzhao Prefecture been delivered today?"

"Not yet."

Ming Huashang said, "When it's almost noon, go to the East Market to buy the old building and send it to Jingzhao Prefecture while it's still hot. Also, make a cup of agarwood drink and send it to your second brother."

Jinbao agreed, Zhaocai sighed, and could only go inside to get the money. She counted out the copper money from her dressing box and said to Ming Huashang, "Madam, even if you have a mountain of gold and silver, you can't spend it like this, not to mention that you don't have much savings to begin with. It's OK to send food to Erlangjun, but those low-class rough men and rude officials are not worthy of it.

The government had a dining hall that provided free lunch, but how could the big pot of rice taste good? The court officials complained about the food, but they had to eat. If they went out to get a snack during the meal, they would be impeached and fired if they were found by the imperial officials. Only the prime minister could have a small stove and eat something good.

The official residence of Jingzhao Prefecture is in Guangdefang, where the rules are more relaxed than those in the imperial city. Ming Huashang has been sending snacks to Jingzhao Prefecture every now and then, sometimes cakes, sometimes porridge, and sometimes drinks. This does not affect the rules of the dining hall, but can effectively improve the food of officials from top to bottom in Jingzhao Prefecture. Now everyone in Jingzhao Prefecture knows Shao Yin's second sister, especially the junior clerks, who are more active when they see Ming Huashang than when they see Ming Huazhang.

Ming Huashang knew that Zhaocai was worried about money, so she consoled him, "Things that can be solved with money are not a big deal. If I spend a little money here and can make the officials in Jingzhao Prefecture support you and listen to you, then it is really worth it."

Ming Huashang had breakfast and when she was done cleaning up, it was already 9:00. Ming Huashang asked Zhaocai to bring her brushes. Zhaocai put the brushes and ink away one by one and was very surprised: "Madam, how come you have the interest to practice painting?"

I swear to God, even when the Duke of Zhenguo spent a lot of money to invite everyone to teach, Ming Huashang had never worked so hard. Ming Huashang washed his brush and said casually: "Because I used to think that learning is useless. No matter how good your calligraphy and painting are, you can only be called a talented woman when you are looking for a marriage partner. After you get married, you will never paint again. If that's the case, what is there to learn? But now I find that painting has many important uses, so it's better for me to learn it myself."

Zhaocai seemed to understand what he said, but he still said in support, "My lady, I'm glad you figured it out."

Ming Huashang didn't answer, holding the pen, carefully sketching the appearance of several maids. It wasn't that she had figured it out, but that she had another choice. She could do something truly meaningful, even if her grandmother, Zhaocai and others still didn't understand, but at least she had Ming Huazhang.

Just because he said "I believe her" without hesitation that night, Ming Huashang also had to improve his painting skills to draw the murderer better and more accurately.

Ming Huashang practiced painting all day, and when she heard that Ming Huazhang had returned home in the evening, she put on her war cape and went to Ming Huazhang's courtyard as usual to inquire about the progress of the case.

Solving a case is not the work of one person. Ming Huashang can roughly draw a portrait of the murderer, but when it comes to finding the person, she is far inferior to the old detective who has been working at the grassroots for many years. So Ming Huashang waited at home for the past few days, and she would complete the portrait after Ming Huazhang found the supplementary evidence.

Ming Huazhang used Ming Huashang's portrait as evidence and led his men to search the area along the road where Cheng Siyue disappeared. Within ten days, they compiled three thick volumes of testimony. Ming Huashang walked in and was shocked to see the files almost piled on the ground. He asked, "Second brother, have you investigated all this these days?"

Ming Huazhang nodded: "Yes."

Ming Huashang picked up the nearest scroll and asked, "Is there anyone with important suspicions?"

"There are several at the moment." Ming Huazhang pinched his nose with his fingers, closed his eyes, and showed a rare look of fatigue. "But those who meet the portrait don't meet the conditions for committing the crime, and those who have the conditions for committing the crime don't meet your portrait."

"Hmm?" Ming Huashang sat down hurriedly and asked, "What's going on?"