Chapter 38: No Good Banquet 17: Tearing Off the Mask
Everyone's eyes were focused on He Xuan. He Xuan raised his brows slightly and looked at Li Song with a half-smile, but he didn't hide anything in his words. "This morning, Ah Shu, County Lieutenant Fang, and I left the main courtyard together. Afterwards, County Lieutenant Fang left the house with a dagger. Ah Shu and I first went to find Aunt Zheng and inquired about some past events. Afterwards, we went to the kitchen and asked the servants about the banquet that day. As we were leaving the kitchen, we met County Lieutenant Fang walking towards the backyard, and we went to the garden pond together. During this time, Ah Shu and I were together, never apart."
Li Song narrowed his eyes, speaking meaningfully, "Always together? Never left?" He repeated He Xuan's words until he received a warning look from He Xuan and received strange looks from others. Only then did he retract the amusement on his face, cleared his throat, and asked seriously, "Why did you two go to the kitchen to inquire about the banquet? Do you have any suspicions?"
He Xuan took a half step forward, placing Xun Shu behind him to shield her from the crowd's curious gazes. "Yes, we suspect that the murderer's original intention at the banquet wasn't to kill Magistrate Zhao, but General Yang. Magistrate Zhao's death from poisoning was purely a coincidence." He shared Xun Shu's theory with Li Song, then summarized their findings, selecting the most useful ones. Finally, he added, "These are Ah Shu's theories. Ah Shu, seeing your ferocious appearance, didn't want to talk to you, so he told me this, and I'll speak publicly."
Xun Shu raised her head and looked at the figure standing in front of her, blocking her view, feeling surprised and grateful.
He always knew her helplessness and confusion, and quietly came to her rescue. Even after rescuing her, he refused to take credit for it, and would still tell everyone about those little things that seemed insignificant to her...
How wonderful it would be if he could just be a clerk in a coffin shop forever...
Li Song naturally had no idea what Xun Shu was thinking. His lips twitched, and he was too lazy to argue with He Xuan: "You mean, County Magistrate Feng originally wanted to poison General Yang at the banquet? But why did he want to kill General Yang? Also, I heard that the milo flower that attracted the bees that day was originally given to General Yang by Zheng. Why did Zheng want to kill General Yang?"
Zheng's identity shouldn't have been mentioned in front of everyone, but now that it was involved in the cause of all the events, He Xuan could no longer conceal it. He briefly revealed Zheng's identity and then said, "Zheng has admitted that both the milo and the Baicao bee were her work. Her original goal was to kill General Yang and avenge her parents. However, she didn't expect that after she left, County Magistrate Zhao would take General Yang's milo flower and put it into his hands. As a result, she was stung by a Baicao bee at the banquet, and because of the needle-sized wound, she was poisoned by the Yibu Jue poison and eventually died." He Xuan paused, slapped his forehead, and added, "Oh, by the way, she also told us that it was County Magistrate Feng who told her that General Yang was the murderer of her parents' enemy."
"She told you a lot."
He Xuan turned to look at Xun Shu, his eyebrows and eyes curved like a crescent moon, filled with tiny starlight: "After all, Ah Shu has a kind heart, and Zheng believes she can help her."
Li Song's breath was held in his throat. He didn't want to look at the two people anymore, so he turned to look at the expressions of the other people in the woodshed.
Qiu Anping's tired eyes had completely opened at some point; County Magistrate Bi pursed his lips tightly and clenched his fists; and Chief Secretary Qu had a frown on his face, wondering what he was struggling with.
Li Song took in everyone's expressions and smiled, "What a coincidence! The Dali Temple came all the way here to investigate that old case from five years ago. And it just so happens that the people who died in this house all had some connection to that case." He turned his head to look at Qu Zhubu beside him and asked, "Qu Zhubu, do you think this is a coincidence?"
Qu Zhubu's body trembled slightly, and he stammered, "I don't think this is a coincidence..."
Li Song turned to look at Fang Yan again: "County Lieutenant Fang, why do you think General Yang killed County Magistrate Feng?"
Fang Yan's face was stern, serious and solemn. "Your Excellency, I think it was not General Yang who killed County Magistrate Feng, but rather County Magistrate Feng who tried to kill General Yang, only to be killed in return by General Yang. There are two reasons for this. First, the dagger was locked in the main hall, a place General Yang had never been, so it was impossible for him to telekinetically take the dagger away, whereas County Magistrate Feng had been there. Second, as Brother He just said, the menu for that day's banquet was set by County Magistrate Feng, and the roasted lamb leg was also prepared for General Yang. The two have known each other for many years, and County Magistrate Feng knew General Yang's habits, and it is very likely that he used this habit to murder General Yang. He didn't expect that General Yang would change this habit and escape, so he wanted to invite him to the back garden again, kill him when he was unprepared, and by the way, put the blame on him for the dagger incident."
Li Song had asked casually, but he hadn't expected Fang Yan's answer to be so coherent and clear, unlike the others at the county office. He took his expression seriously and continued, "Then why do you think County Magistrate Feng wanted to kill General Yang?"
"Your Excellency, I believe this is also related to the old case from five years ago, the theft of disaster relief funds."
The theft of disaster relief funds.
It had been five years since these words were uttered again by officials from the Dali Division and the Chaozhou County Yamen. The case of that year had been a wound in the hearts of many, and now, with it being mentioned again, one wondered if it offered a chance for healing.
Whispers were heard in the woodshed, but Fang Yan pretended not to hear them. "I was still young that year, and I only heard a few words from my elders, and I kept it in mind. After entering the county government office, I borrowed the files of unsolved mysteries in Chaozhou, and this case happened to be among them. The files said that on the night the disaster relief silver disappeared, after the dinner was over and everyone left, only five people stayed in the government office. These five people were the former Chaozhou County Magistrate Zheng, Feng Xiancheng who was still the county lieutenant at the time, Ouyang the governor of the provincial government, the governor of the river from the capital, and Yang Yong, a school lieutenant. The next day, the governor of the river was killed, and the money disappeared. Everyone who appeared in the county government office that night became a suspect overnight.
"Not long afterward, the emperor sent officials to Chaozhou to investigate the case. They discovered that County Magistrate Zheng had conspired to murder the River Governor and executed him. While the River Governor's case was resolved, the disaster relief money remained unrecovered. The Dali Temple even searched the entire county office, along with the residences of County Magistrate Feng and several others, as well as the Zheng family mansion, now known as the Zhao residence. They even searched the backyard pond, but still couldn't find the missing money. Thus, the case remained unsolved for years.
"I've considered the entire case. Of the individuals involved that night, two came from the capital to escort the relief funds, two were native Chaozhou residents, and one, Governor Ouyang, although not usually in Chaozhou, was a superior to the Zheng County Magistrate and was quite familiar with both Zheng County Magistrate and County Lieutenant Feng. In my opinion, these five individuals can be roughly divided into two camps: those from the capital, and those who had been entrenched near Chaozhou for years. It would have been difficult for one of these camps to steal the relief funds without alerting the other. Therefore, I believe that the incident was a conspiracy involving multiple individuals.
"The Governor of the River Channel died first, so he likely had nothing to do with this matter. Therefore, General Yang must be connected to the disappearance of the disaster relief silver. Later, County Magistrate Zheng was executed, leaving only County Magistrate Feng and Governor Ouyang. I'm not sure if they all knew about this. Regardless of whether they were colluding, as long as they killed everyone else, they could have pocketed the vast sum of money. This is why I believe County Magistrate Feng wanted to kill General Yang. However, now that County Magistrate Feng and General Yang are gone... isn't it a bit too coincidental that only Governor Ouyang is still alive?"
"How dare you!" After hearing Fang Yan's inference, County Lieutenant Bi couldn't help but shout, "Are you saying that Governor Ouyang is the mastermind behind this? You're just a small county lieutenant, and you dare to make false accusations against the governor?"
This anger came so suddenly that Fang Yan froze in place, forgetting for a moment what he had not yet finished saying.
Lieutenant Bi realized his own misstep and cleared his throat. Just as he was about to find an excuse to brush it off, Chief Clerk Qu suddenly spoke up. His voice was firm yet trembling, as if he had made up his mind. "Lieutenant Bi, I remember you were recommended by Governor Ouyang and entered the county government directly. After all these years, you still remember Governor Ouyang's kindness and won't tolerate anyone saying anything bad about him... Could it be that you were one of his people stationed in the Chaozhou County government?"
Xun Shu tilted his head slightly and looked intently at the face of Bi County Wei. He saw that he had prominent cheekbones and earlobes close to the flesh, indicating a face that showed an extremely loyal character.
She had seen this face a few days ago, but at that time she thought that County Magistrate Bi was a county lieutenant who was loyal to County Magistrate Zhao. Now, it seems that she is afraid that he is loyal to someone else.
County Lieutenant Bi looked at Chief Clerk Qu in shock, wondering why he had brought this up at this moment, and even more unsure how to refute it. Chief Clerk Qu grew more resolute, turning to Li Song and bowing deeply, then speaking loudly, "Sir, I have something important to report! That day, I followed County Lieutenant Bi and County Magistrate Feng into that hall. During that time, the two of them huddled together, whispering, and even intentionally pushed me into a corner. I wonder what they were busy with. Although I was surprised at the time, I didn't think much of it. When I was leaving after the search, I heard a small clashing sound. I didn't know what it was at the time, but I finally figured it out just now. It must have been the dagger hidden in my sleeve pocket, colliding with each other as I walked." He took a deep breath and practically shouted out his suspicions, "I suspect that County Lieutenant Bi and County Magistrate Feng conspired to kill General Yang, and then strangled General Yang after Feng's death!"
Li Song's expression remained unchanged, as if he had already known about this. "Oh? If you knew about this a long time ago, why didn't you tell me earlier? Why did you reveal everything now?"
Chief Clerk Qu trembled as he spoke, "At the time, I had no idea what they were plotting, much less that they'd stolen the dagger from the hall... Besides, County Magistrate Zhao was dead, and before the new magistrate took office, County Assistant Feng was the highest-ranking official in the county government. How could I have dared to question them?" He raised his head and looked at Li Song, his whole body stiff and tense. "Now County Assistant Feng is dead, and the person who killed General Yang hasn't been found yet. This person must be better at fighting than General Yang. If this person is County Lieutenant Bi, and he remembers what happened in the hall that day, will he suspect that I knew everything and want to kill me to silence me? My Lords, you are from the Dali Temple, you must protect me..."
County Lieutenant Bi turned pale and plodded to his knees. "My Lords, please understand! This is all one-sided talk from Chief Clerk Qu! General Yang and I have only met a few times. We have no grudges against each other. Why kill him?"
"It's about an old case from five years ago! You were recommended by Governor Ouyang, and you might be his man in the Chaozhou County government! Fang Yan is right! The disaster relief money from that year has never been found, and it might be hidden somewhere in this house. Now that so many years have passed, it's rare for the people from that time to get together. If you can kill County Magistrate Bi and General Yang, then all the money will go into Governor Ouyang's pocket!"
"Do you have any evidence?!"
"Am I wrong?!"
The former colleagues completely tore off their false disguises, revealing their ferocious claws and pounced on each other. He Xuan squinted at the two men, but in his mind he was thinking about Qu Zhubu's joke-like frame-up.
Qu Zhubu's speculation was almost exactly the same as what he thought.
Qu Zhubu was born and raised in Chaozhou, where his wife and children also lived. He could have taken a higher position in the governor's office, but he refused to leave his hometown and insisted on staying. Bi Xianwei, who had no wife or children and was not a native of Chaozhou, was unknown what he was doing when the incident occurred five years ago.
If one of these two people cooperated with County Magistrate Feng to commit murder, it would definitely be the latter who had no ties.
They were in a hurry to take action in this empty Zhao residence at this moment, which must be related to this residence.
The disaster relief money should be hidden here.
But where exactly is it?
-----------------------
The author has something to say: This case is quite special, and the identities of the hero and heroine are awkward, so it is not convenient to intervene directly in many places. So I will go through the plot as quickly as possible in these two chapters. After wrapping up this case, I will soon move on to the content of the copywriting!
P.S.: Actually, when designing this case, there were some more complicated parts, but the male and female protagonists couldn’t fit in with that kind of design, so they had to be deleted...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
