Chapter 99: Pure Wisdom

Ming Huazhang put down his hand. His eyes were still bloodshot, but his expression had regained its calmness. He said, "There is not much overlap between the relationship between Duke Cheng and Huang Jijiu. I have found a few candidates according to your portrait."

"One of them was a student who shared a dormitory with Cheng Dalang a year ago. His name was Xu Ji, and he was the youngest son of Xu Shizhong of the Ministry of Personnel. He was weak when he was young, and he had recuperated in a mountain villa outside the city. Two years ago, he moved back to Chang'an and entered the Imperial College. He once lived in the same dormitory with the eldest grandson of Duke Cheng, who was Cheng Siyue's brother. Cheng Siyue often went to the Imperial College, so Xu Ji and Cheng Siyue had met several times. It is said that Xu Ji liked Cheng Siyue very much and even wanted to propose marriage to the Duke Cheng's mansion, but the Cheng family was unwilling, so Cheng Dalang declined and asked the supervisor to adjust the dormitory."

After listening to this, Ming Huashang asked, "Are you saying that Xu Ji might have failed in his proposal, so he is holding a grudge?"

"This possibility cannot be ruled out." Ming Huazhang said, "I asked the Xu family's servants, and they said that Xu Ji is very beautiful. The maids around him are all about fourteen years old, petite, and pretty-faced women, over eighteen years old. Will be sent away by him. The Xu family has a villa on the outskirts of the city. The carriage ride to Pudu Temple only lasted for a cup of tea. He had been recuperating in this villa four years ago. On the day Cheng Siyue died, he was in the same class as Cheng Dalang. He probably noticed Cheng Siyue standing outside the corridor. What happened. That afternoon, Xu Ji was absent from class and did not return all afternoon. "

Ming Huashang asked hurriedly: "Where did he go that afternoon?"

"Pingkangfang," Ming Huazhang said, "He went to Manchunlou. The madam said he arrived at about 3 p.m. and ordered the dancer Hongye, whom he was most familiar with, as usual. He left at 4 p.m. He stayed in Hongye's room the whole time and no one saw him."

Ming Huashang frowned and thought, and asked, "What has he been doing for so long?"

"Hongye said they were reciting poems to each other, and then Xu Ji fell asleep. Hongye was afraid that outsiders would wake him up, so she kept the door closed and didn't let anyone in to disturb him. But she stayed by the bed all the time, and can guarantee that Xu Ji didn't go anywhere."

Ming Huazhang finished speaking, and added coldly, "But the madam said Xu Ji was willing to redeem Hong Ye and that Hong Ye needed him. That may not be credible. I went to see the guest room where Xu Ji stayed that day. The window was very close to the ground. A man could easily jump to the ground. There is a small path behind it that leads directly to the back door."

Ming Huashang asked back, "Do you suspect that he used the excuse of having fun in the brothel to sneak out of Pingkangfang and go to Dongshi to harm Cheng Siyue?"

"If Hongye lied, given the distance between Dongshi and Pingkangfang, Xu Ji would have made it in time."

"But even if he had time to kill someone, he might not have time to remove the bones and dissect the body." Ming Huashang asked doubtfully, "If he killed Cheng Siyue in the East Market, how could he do it with so many people on the street? Even if he tricked Cheng Siyue to a remote place, would he have enough time to kill her, remove her finger bones, clean up the scene, and then dump the body in Tongjifang in the south of the city in one hour?"

"That's why I said he fits the description, but he didn't have enough time to commit the crime," Ming Huazhang said. "There's another person who also fits your description. He's the teacher of Xu Ji, Cheng Dalang and others, and he was a doctor at the Imperial Academy, Lu Du."

The name sounded familiar, and Ming Huashang immediately recalled: "Is it the man playing the flute that we met at Pudu Temple that day?"

"It's him." Ming Huazhang said, "He was born in the Lu family of Fanyang, and his mother was the daughter of the Zheng family of Xingyang. The Imperial College's chief academician liked his family background and that he had the blood of two prominent families, so he recommended him to teach in the Imperial College. Now is his fourth year. Both his parents have passed away, and he has not yet married. Now he is 22 years old and is a well-known young talent in the Imperial College. Many matchmakers want to find him a partner, but he is devoted to worshipping Buddha and has rejected all of them."

When Ming Huashang heard about his age and marital status, she was shocked and asked, "What was he doing when the murder happened?"

"He was living in Qingshan Temple four years ago, but it is said that he had a bad relationship with his father. When Huang Caiwei and her servant got into trouble, he had been living in Qingshan Temple for more than two years. On the day Cheng Siyue was murdered, he taught at the Imperial College in the morning and attended a sutra lecture at Qingchan Temple in the afternoon. There are many witnesses."

"He has a bad relationship with his father?" Ming Huashang asked hurriedly, "Is there any news about him?"

"I suspected him, but he was not there," Ming Huazhang explained. "He taught Gongyang Zhuan in the Imperial College in the morning. After the class ended at 9:00 p.m., Lu Du drove away from the Imperial College without eating and went to Qingchan Temple to listen to the sutra. The eminent monk who gave the lecture was the abbot of Pudu Temple. After Lu Du entered the hall, he greeted the abbot and the novices one by one, and then went into the small incense room to listen to the sutra. He did not leave until the end of the Dharma Assembly at 0:00 p.m."

"Incense room?" Ming Huashang asked after hearing this, "Was there anyone in the incense room at that time?"

Ming Huazhang knew what Ming Huachang was wondering about, so he took out a piece of paper and a pen to draw a map of Qingchan Temple for her. "This is the main hall of Qingchan Temple. The abbot is sitting on a mat in the front, and many believers are sitting below the hall. However, some people do not want to show up, or feel uncomfortable in the small hall, so they donate more money to sit alone in the incense room. It is called an incense room, but it is actually just a small compartment built on the east and west sides of the hall with wooden boards. After hanging a gauze curtain, it is more private than sitting in the hall. But the curtain is not thick, and you can see inside from the outside. The abbot was preaching for almost three hours, and Lu Du was sitting in his compartment the whole time. Many people outside saw him and can testify that he never left."

Ming Huashang frowned, thought for a long time, and asked, "Where did he go after the Dharma Assembly was over?"

"He went straight back to the mansion." Ming Huazhang said, "The novice monk of Qingchan Temple and the gatekeeper of Lu Mansion can testify to this. The time is right."

There are two people who fit the profile. Xu Ji has witnesses and insufficient time, while Lu Du's itinerary is very clear. It seems that neither of them had the conditions to commit the crime.

Ming Huachang felt heavy-hearted, and began to reflect on whether she had been too prejudiced, causing the portrait to lean towards the murderer she hoped for, and ignoring the real world.

Perhaps, she should refer to the experience of the police chiefs in real life in finding murderers. Her feelings may not be accurate every time.

Ming Huashang sighed inaudibly and asked, "If we ignore the portrait, are there any other suspicious people?"

Ming Huazhang looked at her quietly, shook the back of her hand, and said calmly, "Yes."

Ming Huachang felt increasingly depressed.

Even if it was Ming Huazhang, he believed her without hesitation, but he also prepared a second way, and did not rely entirely on psychological portraiture to catch the murderer. Ming Huashang certainly understood Ming Huazhang's approach, which was the quality of a mature and responsible leader. She just regretted why she was still so useless?

Ming Huazhang spoke calmly and rationally, but he kept holding Ming Huachang's hand, silently expressing his support for her. He never doubted her, but he had to take responsibility for the case, and it was his principle to always have a way out.

Ming Huazhang said: "I divided the people in charge of the serial murder case into two groups. One group was shown your portrait and asked to find the right person based on the portrait. The other group had no idea of ​​the portrait's characteristics and relied on the usual investigation process and experience to solve the case. The second group has found two people so far, one is Wu Yi, a temporary worker at the Imperial College, and the other is Jinghui, a monk at Pudu Temple."

"Hmm?" Ming Huashang raised an eyebrow, "Monk?"

"No hurry, let's talk about them one by one." Ming Huazhang said in an orderly manner, "Wu Yi is a laborer of the Imperial College, and usually does some hard work. On October 22, Cheng Siyue left by car at noon, and Wu Yi also left not long after. Cheng Siyue went to the East Market and then disappeared. Wu Yi also stayed in the East Market for a long time and came back very late."

Ming Huashang asked, "Are you saying that he followed Cheng Siyue after she left the house and finally killed her in the East Market?"

"It's possible. But he wasn't in the Imperial College four years ago. He was working in a restaurant in Chang'an. He didn't have time to leave the city during the day. He had little to do with the deaths of Huang Caiwei and Yuyan. It's unlikely that he's a serial killer."

Ming Huashang sighed softly and asked, "What about the other one?"

Despite the setbacks in the investigation, Ming Huazhang was calm and spoke slowly about the next suspect: "I accidentally discovered Jinghui when I asked someone to check the identity certificate of Pudu Temple. Jinghui is not good at swimming and speaks with a Guanzhong accent, but the certificate says that he is from Xiangzhou. When he was seven years old, his hometown suffered a flood and he was the only one in his family to survive. Later, he was adopted by a monk and converted to Buddhism and changed his name to Jinghui."

Ming Huashang became alert when she heard this: "He is from Xiangzhou, and he can survive a flood at the age of seven, but he can't swim?"

"Yes." Ming Huazhang said calmly, "I have sent people to the Fanyin Temple where Jinghui was ordained to inquire about his life and appearance. If he does not match the current monk Jinghui, it means that Jinghui has met with an accident and his identity documents have been stolen."

This kind of thing is not uncommon. Buddhism emphasizes that the four elements are empty and one does not care about the worldly world. Once monks and nuns have taken the tonsure, they do not have to pay taxes to the court or perform military service. When they come across any temple, they can stay overnight for free as long as they show their ID.

Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the court nobles have been promoting Buddhism. Buddhist temples have occupied a large number of people and lands, and Buddhist certificates have become a hot commodity. If you can get a monk's identity certificate and dress up as a monk, you can legitimately avoid being hunted down by court officials and gain the trust of wealthy families. Many bandits who robbed houses like to do this.

They are now

The "pure wisdom" that you see may no longer be pure wisdom.

Ming Huashang thought of the time when he was at Pudu Temple and saw someone sneaking around outside Huang Caiwei's room. Ming Huashang asked, "Was it him who spied on us back then?"

"I'm not sure." Ming Huazhang replied, "I secretly asked the monks at Pudu Temple about Jinghui's character. They said that Jinghui's attitude was very improper. He did morning and evening classes for three days, fished for two days, and dried the nets for two days. He was always alone and elusive. Many people in the temple had complaints about him. What's worse, some people said that Jinghui seemed to be stealing things."

Ming Huashang couldn't help but raise her eyebrows: "Stealing things? Do you have any evidence?"

"Not yet. We cannot rule out the possibility that the people in Pudu Temple disliked him and deliberately slandered him." Ming Huazhang gave a fair and just judgment. "Another reason why the monks suspected Jinghui of stealing things was that on October 22, the abbot led his disciples into the city to give lectures. In the past, Jinghui liked to go to Chang'an the most. He would go into the city to buy things whenever he had something to do. But that day, he acted contrary to his usual behavior and took the initiative to stay at Pudu Temple to guard the gate and did not go into the city with his fellow disciples."

"Is he the only one in the temple?"

"yes."

Ming Huashang thought about the terrain of Pudu Temple and said thoughtfully, "That is to say, even if he secretly left Pudu Temple that day, no one would know."

Ming Huazhang nodded in agreement: "I brought Jinghui's portrait to ask the city gate guards, but unfortunately that was more than ten days ago. There are so many people entering and leaving the city every day, they really can't remember whether Jinghui has appeared."

Ming Huashang propped up her chin, staring at the candle with a dazed look in her eyes, and murmured, "What a coincidence, Cheng Siyue was murdered and the Pudu Temple came to the city to give a lecture on the same day?"

Excessive coincidences are definitely not accidental. Ming Huazhang said: "He is the most suspicious person at present. Jinghui came to Qingshan Temple five years ago, and the first murder occurred not long after. Four years ago, Huang Caiwei and Yuyan were killed in the Buddhist temple. When Cheng Siyue was killed this year, Pudu Temple happened to be in Chang'an for a Dharma Assembly. The timing is too coincidental. Moreover, the identities, wealth, and temperaments of the deceased vary greatly, but they are equal only in front of the Buddha. The beggar girl was begging near Qingshan Temple, Huang Caiwei and Yuyan were worshiping Buddha in the temple, and Cheng Siyue was playing on the street. They could not be so naive as to follow a random man without any defense, unless the other party was wearing a monk's robe and was a compassionate person, they would be completely defenseless."

Ming Huashang thought about it and nodded: "That makes sense. Even if it wasn't him, he must have known something since he spied on us that day."

Ming Huazhang said: "I have sent people to keep an eye on Jinghui. Once the people who went to Fanyin Temple come back and confirm his identity, we can arrest him and interrogate him."

After all, Jinghui is a Buddhist, and half of the nobles in Chang'an City are Buddhists. If Ming Huazhang arrests people without evidence, he will have a hard time explaining himself.

Ming Huazhang made it clear what was suspicious and what was innocent of each suspect in just a few sentences. Ming Huashang thought about the huge amount of work implied behind these testimonies and was deeply in respect for Ming Huazhang.

It seems that she will have to continue delivering food to Jingzhao Prefecture, otherwise, given Ming Huazhang's work intensity, he will be killed sooner or later.

Ming Huashang and Ming Huazhang talked until very late before leaving. Now there was no evidence and the case was at a stalemate. They could only hope to interrogate Jinghui to see if there was a new turn of events. However, Xiangzhou was far away from Chang'an, and it was winter now. They waited for half a month before the person who went to Fanyin Temple to interrogate came back.

The bailiff brought back the portrait of Jinghui, which showed her to be thin and frail, with kind eyes, which was very different from the "Jinghui" of today.

Without saying anything, Ming Huazhang immediately led his men to Pudu Temple to arrest the person. However, when they arrived, they found out that Jinghui had been missing for two days, and what was more serious was that the Buddhist treasures of their Pudu Temple were also lost.