Chapter 37: No Good Banquet 16: Alibi
Xun Shu looked around again.
Officials from the Dali Temple were searching the scene carefully. The coroner and the corpse were standing in the bright light in front of the window. Fang Yan and Li Song were arguing about something. Bi County Magistrate and Qu Zhubu stood silently by and did not say a word. Qiu Anping even stood in front of the door, looking at the scenery outside, not caring at all about what was happening in the woodshed.
Seeing that no one paid attention to the corner where she was standing, Xun Shu felt relieved and continued to whisper to He Xuan, "I think the dagger in the bushes was not brought by General Yang, but by County Magistrate Feng. And the situation at that time was not that General Yang killed County Magistrate Feng, but that County Magistrate Feng wanted to kill General Yang. Do you remember what County Magistrate Zhao said at the banquet that day?"
He Xuan immediately guessed what she wanted to say: "Are you talking about the phrase 'eating meat with your hands'?"
"Yes, think about it. Ordinary people eat with chopsticks, so applying poison to the handle of a dagger wouldn't affect anything. But if someone prefers to cut the meat with a dagger before eating it with their hands, the mutton they eat will be contaminated with poison. That day, only General Yang had this habit, and the roasted leg of lamb was prepared for him. I think the murderer originally intended to kill General Yang, but he didn't anticipate that General Yang would change his habit of eating meat with his hands after marrying. He also didn't anticipate that County Magistrate Zhao had an injury on his hand that day."
"You mean, after failing to land the first strike, County Magistrate Feng summoned Yang Yong to the backyard pond, intending to catch him off guard and kill him?"
Xun Shu nodded and then shook her head. "Yes. General Yang's martial arts skills are not bad. Even if he was caught off guard, he would not be easily killed by the weak and frail County Magistrate Feng." She pointed at the corpses in the distance, a puzzled look on her face. "Both the dead have scars on their bodies. They must have been in a fierce fight. In the chaos, General Yang killed County Magistrate Feng. But I can't understand why County Magistrate Feng died of poisoning? He knew the dagger was poisoned and should have been very careful..."
Xun Shu folded her arms in deep thought, concentrating completely. Suddenly, she felt something cool against her neck. She shuddered, took a step back, and covered the touched skin with her hand. She looked at He Xuan beside her in shock: "What are you doing?"
He Xuan threw a small stone into the pile of debris beside him and said with a smile, "Aren't you curious about why County Magistrate Feng was poisoned? I'm demonstrating it to you."
Xun Shu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized, "You mean, when these two men were arguing, the dagger slashed County Magistrate Feng's neck, and he subconsciously let go to cover the wound, and then he was poisoned?"
"The neck is different from other parts of the body. You can't see if you get hurt. But this place is very fragile and you can get seriously injured if you're not careful. I think that when the two of them were arguing, the dagger cut County Magistrate Feng's neck, but he didn't know it was just a shallow wound. He subconsciously covered it with his hands, but forgot that his hands had held a poisoned dagger, so he took a step and bleedd, and fell to the ground and died a moment later." He Xuan explained to her in a low voice.
Xun Shu recalled the scene of Feng Xiancheng's death. The wound on the side of his neck was light, and his hands were indeed stained with blood...
"In that case, County Magistrate Feng has really bad luck..." Xun Shu sighed.
He Xuan patted her shoulder and comforted her, "Don't you people in the Xuan Sect always say that it's hard to go against the laws of nature? This is the way of nature, there's no need to regret it."
Regret? Xun Shu scratched his head and realized belatedly: "Today there are too many things to do. I haven't had time to regret."
Since last night, all she could think about was whether He Xuan had cheated on her. She was in a daze all day, so how could she have the extra energy to think about anything else? Moreover—
"You're right." Xun Shu sighed, "It's hard to defy fate. Although I didn't warn County Magistrate Feng, I did warn General Yang, but the outcome was no different. How can mortals hope to change fate... Alas."
"Do your best and leave the rest to fate." He Xuan softened his voice. "I don't ask for everything to go my way, but I just want to have a clear conscience."
I don’t ask for everything to go my way, but I ask for a clear conscience…
In an instant, the stone that had weighed on Xun Shu's heart for so long crumbled into dust. The wind blew away, leaving nothing behind. She felt a whole lot lighter. She breathed a long sigh of relief, her cheeks rosy, her eyes gleaming with a tiny glint. "He Xuan, I've had a question I couldn't figure out for a long time, and I just figured it out. Thank you!"
Although he didn't know why he should thank him, Xun Shu's excitement infected He Xuan. He was about to say something when he caught a glimpse of someone approaching. He glanced sideways and saw that it was Li Song. He narrowed his eyes and stared at the man with a rather gloomy look.
Li Song seemed oblivious to his displeasure. He approached with a smile and asked, "What are you two talking about? You look so happy?"
Xun Shu had a natural resistance to people from the Dali Temple. Seeing Li Song approaching, he couldn't help but want to retreat.
Li Song naturally noticed her nervousness and was quite puzzled: "Miss, where have we met before?"
Xun Shu lowered his head and shook it like a rattle: "Probably not."
He Xuan took a step forward and stood in front of Li Song, blocking his view. He squeezed out every word from between his teeth: "Ashu is timid, sir, please don't scare her."
Li Song had grown up with He Xuan, so he naturally sensed the threat in his words. He was his superior, after all, so he had to be more restrained. Li Song stopped and cleared his throat. "The coroner has examined General Yang, and he didn't commit suicide."
As soon as the words fell, the small woodshed became quiet in an instant, and everyone stepped forward and surrounded Li Song.
"Not suicide?!" County Lieutenant Bi was quite surprised. "What's going on?"
"An examination revealed bleeding spots on the corpse's eyelids, indicating strangulation and suffocation. However, the coroner carefully examined the neck wounds and discovered that the strangulation mark was actually two overlapping marks. One of the marks was very thin, obscured by the belt marks, making it difficult to detect. This thin mark was level with the shoulder. We speculate that the murderer stood behind General Yang, strangled him with a thin string, and then hung him from the beam with the belt to create the illusion of suicide." Li Song walked over to the corpse, grasped the wrists, and gestured for everyone to see. "The deceased's wrists and legs show signs of being bound, and his body is covered with scars. He must have been tied to this chair and beaten with a wooden stick." He pointed to a pile of firewood nearby and said, "The stick may have been taken from here. I'll have people search the house and surroundings thoroughly. Perhaps we can find the murder weapon."
County Magistrate Bi still had doubts: "Couldn't this scar be caused by County Magistrate Feng's resistance when he was about to kill him?"
Li Song sneered, "County Magistrate Feng is small and frail, barely able to even lift a finger. General Yang has fought on the battlefield for many years and possesses considerable martial arts prowess. If General Yang were to kill County Magistrate Feng, how would he stand a chance of resistance?" He glanced up and down at County Lieutenant Bi, his gaze etched in a meaningful manner. "County Magistrate Bi looks even stronger than General Yang. If you were to fight General Yang, would you be confident of victory?"
County Magistrate Bi's face darkened and he didn't know how to answer for a moment.
If he said yes, then he had the ability to kill General Yang. If he said no, wouldn't that be admitting his incompetence?
Seeing him with a stern face and not saying anything, Li Song felt a little regretful. He stood up, no longer looking at the body on the ground, and continued: "The cause of death of County Magistrate Feng has been determined. His death was the same as that of County Magistrate Zhao. No traces of the Baicao Bee were found around the body, so it is speculated that he died of the "One Step of Death". The time of their death was not far apart, between noon and 3:00 PM. The order of the murders should be that County Magistrate Feng was killed first, and within half an hour, General Yang also died. In addition, the dagger in the bushes was confirmed to have been smeared with the "One Step of Death". I heard that this dagger was used in the dinner the day before yesterday and was originally locked in the hall. It was discovered at noon today that it had disappeared. I asked the guards, except for General Yang and Young Master Qiu, all of you have entered that room, including the deceased County Magistrate Feng. Do you have any clues about this dagger?"
No one answered. Fang Yan glanced at Xun Shu and He Xuan, hesitating whether to share their findings when Li Song spoke again. "If it's inconvenient for you to speak publicly, you can come to me quietly later. I will reward you handsomely for any clues you can provide." He glanced around, taking in everyone's expressions, and then continued, "When I arrived at the Zhao residence, I overheard some of your discussions. You seemed to have concluded that General Yang was the murderer because he had disappeared. But I feel that none of you can be ruled out as a suspect until the truth is revealed. Since everyone is here now, please tell us in turn about your relationship to the two deceased and what you were doing at the time of the crime. Can anyone provide any evidence?"
The first to speak was Chief Clerk Qu. "After leaving the main courtyard this morning, I went to the front courtyard. Over the past few days, a lot of unattended documents have been piling up in the yamen, and early this morning, a clerk delivered them to the Zhao residence. I've been staying in the front courtyard processing documents the entire time, and I haven't left, as evidenced by the yamen clerk. Later, County Lieutenant Bi came to the front courtyard and told me the news of County Magistrate Feng's death, so I left and rushed to the back courtyard."
"What is your relationship with these two people?"
"I came to the Chaozhou County Office three years ago. I was just a colleague with Magistrate Zhao and County Magistrate Feng. As for General Yang, we've met a few times because of Magistrate Zhao, but we're not familiar with each other. I have no reason to kill them!"
The next person to speak was County Lieutenant Bi. "I've been contemplating the case in my room, with no one to testify. At noon, I went to the garden to relax and stumbled upon County Magistrate Feng's body. I quickly informed Chief Clerk Qu, hoping he would take charge." He paused, explaining his relationship with them. "Chief Clerk Qu and I arrived at the Chaozhou County Yamen in the same year. I've only met General Yang a few times, but we've never argued or had any personal relationship, let alone killed him."
The third person to speak was Qiu Anping. He leaned against the old doorframe, looking listless, as if he hadn't woken up yet. "I slept all morning today. No one called me when they gathered in the morning. When Feng's body was found at noon, they didn't tell me either. It was only after I saw the servants whispering and went up to ask what had happened that I learned what had happened and went to the back garden. As for my alibi, only the mattress can prove it for me." He yawned and said nonchalantly, "I think you can hear that I don't know this group of people. I'm a friend of County Magistrate Zhao. I passed by Chaozhou a few days ago and heard about Madam Zhao's situation, so I came to visit him. County Magistrate Zhao insisted that I stay and have a feast before leaving. If I had known what would happen, I would have turned around and left, not stayed here."
When it was Fang Yan's turn, he was still a little hesitant, but he still chose to reveal everything: "This morning, after everyone dispersed, Ah Shu, Brother He, and I, suspected that County Magistrate Zhao was not killed by the Baicao Bee, but by Yibu Jue. We entered the hall again to search, but the dagger was gone. Later, Ah Shu remembered that she had stuffed a dagger into her bag and took it away on the day of the banquet. She took it out and handed it to me. I took the dagger and left the house to verify whether the handle was poisonous. Finally, I confirmed that the handle of the dagger was coated with Yibu Jue.
"When I returned to the Zhao residence, I was about to look for County Magistrate Feng when I heard the news that he had been murdered. I hurried to the back garden. Halfway there, I saw Ah Shu and Brother He coming out of the kitchen. I dragged them along to see County Magistrate Feng's body. I have a poison doctor to testify to what happened today. If you don't believe me, you can go and verify it yourself. As for my relationship with the two deceased, I joined the yamen a year ago and only met General Yang for the first time at the flower viewing banquet a few days ago. Your Excellency, I have no reason to kill someone I just met. Moreover, as a member of the yamen, I am expected to lead by example. How could I violate the law?"
Everyone present had explained their alibi and their relationship to the deceased, with only Xun Shu and He Xuan in the corner remaining silent.
Li Song turned around and looked at the two of them, his face showing excitement. "You two are the only ones left. Why not let this little brother speak first?"
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