Chapter 25: No Good Banquet 4 Bee
Within the time it took to stick up an incense stick, the Zhao residence was completely sealed off, the servants were driven back to their respective residences, and only officials were left at the crime scene.
Fang Yan took the silver needle and tested the food on the table one by one. His brows furrowed tighter and tighter as he muttered, "They're all non-toxic. Could I be wrong..."
Everyone witnessed County Magistrate Zhao's death. In the instant the incident occurred, his expression transformed from ordinary to ferocious, his lips turning blue and his face flushed red, as if he had accidentally ingested something highly poisonous. Now, the absence of poison in the food on the table was a source of disbelief not only to Fang Yan, but also to County Magistrate Feng and Chief Clerk Qu.
Zheng hadn't left yet, weeping so hard she collapsed on the ground, nearly fainting. Seeing her like this, County Magistrate Feng wanted to ask about Magistrate Zhao, but he didn't know how. As he hesitated, the Zhao family's housekeeper hurried in, a mournful look on his face. "The master has been murdered, the house is sealed off, and chaos reigns. I heard you gentlemen will be staying for a few days, so I've come to apologize."
County Magistrate Feng was puzzled: "What crime have you committed?"
Steward Tang's face wrinkled like a rope. "Your Excellency, you may not know that although this house is large, there are not many servants. Most of the courtyards are in disrepair. The servants can make do with it, but how can you, the nobles, live here? I really don't know how to make arrangements for you, my Excellencies."
Everyone present was somewhat aware of the Zhao residence's poverty, so they weren't surprised. County Magistrate Feng stroked his beard and sighed, "This happened suddenly. We'll just have to find a few beds to stay in for now." He paused, as if an idea had struck him. "There should be quite a few empty courtyards in the mansion right now. We can temporarily accommodate ourselves there. We'll just have to make do with this emergency. We're all government officials, so we don't have to be so cautious."
Steward Tang immediately understood what he meant. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Since you gentlemen have said so, I will do my best to arrange it. Since the Madam passed away, although no one lives in her courtyard, someone has been cleaning it. I'm sorry to bother Lord Fang, Lord Bi, and this Mr. He to rest in this courtyard for the time being. There are two rooms in the master's study that can accommodate people, so please ask Lord Feng and Lord Qu to make do with them. General Yang and Young Master Qiu, please move to the eldest young master's former courtyard. As for this young lady—" Steward Tang thought for a moment and said with a wry smile, "It's really a bit difficult to deal with."
Xun Shu was suddenly called out, and hurriedly waved his hands: "I'm not picky. If there's a vacant room in Aunt Zheng's or the Second Young Miss's courtyard, I can stay there without having to clean it up."
"Young lady, you don't know that since Madam left, the Second Young Miss has been bedridden. The air in the courtyard is filled with a mixture of illness and medicine, and I'm really afraid it might disturb you. As for Concubine Zheng's courtyard, it was originally vacant, but today at noon, Concubine Zheng's aunt, the old lady of the Zheng family, suddenly visited and hasn't left since. Now that the house is sealed, she can only temporarily stay in Concubine Zheng's courtyard. There's really no room for either of them."
This is indeed a difficult situation.
In the silence, Chief Clerk Qu suddenly spoke, drawing everyone's attention to his chubby face. "However, Miss Xun and Mr. He are already family, so we can still house them together in Madam's former courtyard. It shouldn't be too abrupt. Let Xiao Yan and Bida live in the study, and squeeze in with me and Lord Feng." He looked at Fang Yan and Bida and casually joked, "You don't mind sharing a courtyard with two old guys like us, do you?"
It made sense for the four men from the yamen to squeeze together. Fang Yan and Bida were about to respond when they were interrupted by General Yang: "I've been to Brother Zhao's study before, but there's no room for four people. How about this? Brother Feng and I have known each other for many years, but we haven't seen each other for a long time. For the next few days, I'll let Brother Feng and I stay in the study courtyard together, drinking and chatting happily. Madam Zhao's courtyard is spacious, so the other four brothers can squeeze in there. As for this young lady and this young man, they can go to the eldest young master's courtyard."
Since General Yang had spoken, the others naturally had no objections. Xun Shu felt something was a little strange, but for a moment he couldn't figure out what was strange, so he could only suppress it for the time being.
After deciding where to stay, Steward Tang was about to leave to make arrangements when County Magistrate Feng stopped him. "Steward Tang, you've been with Lord Zhao for many years. Do you know if he has any chronic illness?"
"I haven't heard of that. The master's health has indeed deteriorated over the years, but it's not to the point of being sick..." Butler Tang scratched his head and turned to look at Zheng, quite respectfully, "Madam Zheng, you've been by the master's side most of the time these days. Do you know anything?"
Zheng stopped crying, lowered her eyes, clutched the handkerchief in her hand, and sobbed, "Over the years, Master has often been unable to sleep at night. Is this considered a chronic illness? Other than that, I can't remember anything else."
"The yamen's affairs have been so tedious over the years that Lord Zhao's sleepless nights might be due to this." County Magistrate Feng sighed, stroked his beard, and squinted his eyes in thought. "So, we can rule out the possibility of sudden death from a serious illness... Then, do you know if Lord Zhao had any enemies?"
"I have lived in the house for a long time and know very little about what the master is doing outside. I have never heard that the master has any enemies."
County Magistrate Feng nodded slightly and looked at Steward Tang. Steward Tang hurriedly recalled, and after a moment, he also gave a negative answer: "I have followed the master for seven or eight years. The master is usually humble and treats everyone. I have never heard of him having any enemies. If it is really caused by enemies, it can only be because of the affairs of the government, and he offended someone. But you gentlemen should know more about the affairs of the government than I do."
County Magistrate Feng had no further questions, so he let Steward Tang leave. The rest of the group remained in the hall, carefully searching every corner.
The crowd dispersed, finally revealing Magistrate Zhao's hideous corpse and the table before him. Xun Shu slowly moved to the table, opened his palms to block his view, squatted down, buried his head under the table, and searched carefully.
The light beneath the table was dim, and Xun Shu struggled to see. She could only lower herself to the ground. Suddenly, the surroundings brightened, revealing every speck of dust. She turned her head in shock to look at the source of the light. It was an oil lamp, held in He Xuan's hands and brought before her.
The bright candlelight dispelled the darkness under the table and illuminated her own world.
Xun Shu stared at He Xuan blankly: "What are you doing?"
He Xuan raised his eyebrows, revealing a few big white teeth: "I'm afraid you'll go blind, so I came to help you in your time of need."
Through the flickering candlelight, his appearance was both hazy and clear. Xun Shu's heart was pounding, as if she were ill, and she suddenly felt a little dizzy. She looked away, supported her hands on the ground, pursed her lips, and quietly slowed down her pounding heartbeat.
He Xuan held the oil lamp forward a little further and said, "Looking for that little flying insect?"
Xun Shu hummed softly, "It seems like such a coincidence. Not long after being bitten by an insect, the person is gone."
"Then look carefully. I'll be right here to help you."
These words were like the soft and sweet glutinous rice cakes she had just eaten, and Xun Shu's earlobes felt hot, as if they were about to catch fire. She bit her lip, and the momentary sting dispelled the chaos in her mind. She finally calmed down and continued to examine the corners in front of her.
There seemed to be a shadow at the corner of the table. Xun Shu leaned in closer and saw that it was a curled-up bee, lying on its back, with a missing wing and no sound. Xun Shu pulled a handkerchief from his bag and carefully picked up the bee through it, saying happily, "I found it!"
Perhaps she was too excited and forgot where she was. She stood up suddenly, and the back of her head was about to hit the table. Suddenly, a hand reached out from the side, quickly cushioned her head, and gently wrapped her head to protect it from the pain of the impact.
The sound of the finger bones colliding with the table was extremely crisp and painful. Xun Shu was stunned and looked worried: "Does it hurt?"
He Xuan put his red hands behind his back and said with a smile, "It's okay. But did you find the bug?"
Xun Shu held the wrapped insect in his hand, carefully climbed out of the table, stood in the bright light, and showed the bee in his hand to the people who had gathered around after hearing the sound: "Could this be the cause of Lord Zhao's death?"
County Magistrate Feng took the bee and examined it carefully. Compared to ordinary bees, this one was smaller, with a black and red abdomen, and a rather terrifying appearance. After examining it, he handed the bee to someone nearby and asked, "Miss Xun, do you think this is the 'real murderer' who killed County Magistrate Zhao?"
Xun Shu shook his head and said sincerely, "I don't know. I just remembered that he was bitten by an insect a while ago, and I wanted to see what kind of insect it was. I lived in the mountains when I was young, and I know many insects. Unfortunately, this one looks very unfamiliar. I have never seen it before."
For some unknown reason, Xun Shu turned his head to look at the corner where Zheng was, but saw her huddled together, trembling all over, as if she didn't pay attention to what was happening here.
Xun Shu turned his eyes away, as if thinking about something.
The bee passed to Fang Yan. After examining it carefully, he echoed Xun Shu's words, "I've never seen this bee before. Could it have been brought here by someone else?"
"Different mountains have different insects. You're still young, so it's normal you haven't seen any." County Magistrate Feng stroked his beard, narrowed his eyes, and added, "We can't be sure this bee is related to Lord Zhao's death. Many things remain undetermined. Fang Yan, tomorrow morning, you will take this bee with you, take the token, and leave the Zhao residence. Go and investigate its origins. Make sure you confirm whether this bee is related to Lord Zhao's death."
Fang Yan obeyed the order, took the bee, carefully wrapped it with a handkerchief, and placed it on his chest for safekeeping.
Looking at Fang Yan's actions, Xun Shu suddenly thought of something. She turned back to her desk, took the dagger that had not touched the mutton, went to the incense burner in the corner of the room, and opened the lid of the incense burner.
The handkerchief he had just used to wrap the bee had no other container in his hand. Just as he was about to ask for one from someone else, a plain white handkerchief appeared in front of him. Xun Shu raised his head and saw He Xuan's smiling eyes: "Here."
"Thanks."
Xun Shu took the handkerchief, used a dagger to mess up the incense sticks, then separated a small pile of incense powder and moved it to the handkerchief to wrap it up. Then he put away the dagger and trotted to hand the bag of incense powder to Fang Yan.
Fang Yan took it, confused. Xun Shu hurriedly explained, "Since you and I are both fine, this proves that the incense is non-toxic. But the art of incense, like medicine, is extremely mysterious. You should find a skilled doctor and ask them if there are any incense-related effects. Perhaps County Magistrate Zhao's death is related to this."
Fang Yan suddenly realized what was going on and placed the cloth bag and the bee together, fearing that even a little bit of it would be scattered. "Ah Shu is really smart."
They searched every corner of the hall, from the drinks and food on the tables to the medicine bottles, but found nothing unusual. Seeing that it was getting late, County Magistrate Feng made a quick decision and said to everyone, "Let's stop here for today." He looked at the food on the tables around him, pondered for a moment, and said to the servant beside him, "Since there's nothing wrong, let's remove these foods.
The order was rather strange, and everyone looked at each other in bewilderment. As the servant obediently stepped forward to clear the table of leftovers, Fang Yan interrupted him with a serious expression, "Sir, this isn't right! Perhaps there's a poison in the food that can't be detected with a needle. If we clear it now, we'll destroy important evidence."
The order he had just issued was rejected. County Magistrate Feng couldn't help but frown. Then he sighed as if accepting his fate and said, "Then what do you think County Lieutenant Fang should do?"
Fang Yan seemed oblivious to the reluctance in his words and said seriously, "In my opinion, Magistrate Zhao's body should be temporarily removed and placed in another room. This hall must be strictly guarded, and no one can enter or leave at will. In addition, since everyone in the room is a suspect, three or more people are required before reentry."
This means that everyone present is regarded as an enemy and must be guarded against with all their might!
County Magistrate Feng looked at the ignorant young man in front of him with a gloomy face. After a while, he sneered, "Okay, just as County Lieutenant Fang said, seal off this hall. No one is allowed to enter or leave at will!"
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