Grudge Breaker

Chapter 268 Who is the murderer?
Although it is the hour of Hai, if it were normal, the lights on Water Street would still be on, the crowds of people would not have dispersed, and the bustling atmosphere would still be there.

But today, due to the unexpected event of the Princess's welcoming banquet, the water street was temporarily closed under curfew, and everything ended hastily. The riverside was quiet and dark, which contrasted with the bright lights of the Sichen Mansion.

Among them, the Venerable Palace is the most important.

After the incident, Qin Xueying and Ruan Mianmian were escorted back to the Venerable Mansion by the guards brought by the Lord's Mansion and were strictly guarded. Security patrols became more meticulous, and many lighthouses were temporarily added to the mansion, making the entire courtyard as bright as day.

Mo Tingfeng urgently summoned Ding Heran and Ye Wujiu to the meeting hall of Sichen Mansion.
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"Who found the body?"

"Your Excellency, the person who found the body was a helper on the pleasure boat who was responsible for cleaning the interior and exterior walls. He was in his forties and from Qingshan Village. His name was Zhang Qi. He had been working on this boat for nearly twenty years, and he was responsible for the cleaning of the five pleasure boats near Si Chen Mansion."

Ye Wujiu reported back all the information that had just been investigated by the Ground Network Breaker.

"When the incident happened, Zhang Qi had just finished cleaning the outer wall of the previous pleasure boat and rowed his own sampan to the 'Wang Jiangnan', which was the pleasure boat for the reception. Xiao An's body was stuck in the water column where he usually tied the sampan."

"Zhang Qi has been taken back to Si Chen Mansion and is waiting outside the palace. You can summon him at any time."

Mo Tingfeng nodded, stood up from the conference table and walked to the presentation area, where there was a map of the Water Street area, including Sichen Mansion, Qingshan Village, and two villages along the Water Street were all clearly visible. He stared at the map for a long time without saying a word.

……

A dead body was found at the welcoming banquet for the eldest princess, and the deceased happened to be Xiao'an, a maid who was assigned to serve in the Venerable's Mansion. This matter was weird no matter how you looked at it.

Moreover, the water street stretches for forty miles, and there are at least thirty pleasure boats along the way. The one chosen for the welcoming banquet is not the one closest to Si Chen's house. If the body floated down the river, why did it get stuck on the water column of this pleasure boat? .
"Summon Zhang Qi."

"Yes!"

Soon, a middle-aged man with dark yellow skin, wearing a conical hat, a short shirt, coarse linen trousers, knee-length leggings at the crotch, and a pair of linen shoes, was brought into the meeting hall by two ground-net-breaking resentment-breaking masters.

Zhang Qi had never experienced such a situation before. His legs went weak and before anyone could ask him any questions, he knelt down first and called out to Mo Tingfeng.

"My Lord, I really don't know anything! I didn't kill the man, I really didn't! I am a coward and I only dare to ask the village butcher to kill the pigs I raise at home. Please understand!"

"No one said you killed someone, so stand up and speak. This is Master Mo, answer whatever he asks you, honestly and directly, don't ramble on, do you hear me?"

After Ding Heran finished speaking, he pulled Zhang Qi up by the arm. He was accustomed to this kind of situation. After all, they were just ordinary people. It was normal for them to rush to distance themselves from the matter when faced with such a big thing.

"Yes Yes."

Zhang Qi's head was sweaty, and he raised his greasy sleeves to wipe it roughly.

"He Ran, give him a handkerchief."

Mo Tingfeng took two steps towards Zhang Qi, signaling him not to be nervous, and tried to make his voice calm and soft.

"Lao Zhang, what time did you find the deceased?"

"My Lord, it was exactly the hour of Xu, because I always cleaned Wang Jiangnan at a fixed time and in a fixed order, which has never changed in the past ten years. So I am sure that it must be the hour of Xu."

"Was the body tied or secured to the water column with ropes or something like that when it was found?"

"My Lord, the body was not tied or fastened. It looked like it was washed there by the current from somewhere upstream along the river and was caught by the water column of the pleasure boat."

Mo Tingfeng shook his head, he already had something in mind.

"You have worked as a helper in this Water Street for many years. Have you ever seen this deceased person?"

When he asked this question, Zhang Qi shuddered noticeably, and it was obvious that he was indeed timid.

"Sir, I'm not ashamed to tell you the truth. When I saw a dead person stuck in the water column, I peed my pants! This, this is because it has been dried up for a long time..."

"Then I was brought to your house, and a little adult insisted that I recognize the dead man's face. Oh my god, I was scared to death! No, I don't know him, I have never seen him before."

……

It seems that no clues can be obtained from Zhang Qi.

Mo Tingfeng pondered for a moment, then ordered the two masters who escorted him in to send Zhang Qi back. However, because he was involved in a murder case, he needed to be temporarily confined at home and restricted in his freedom. His meals during the house arrest would be arranged by the Si Chen Mansion, and all work loss would be borne by the Si Chen Mansion, at double the salary.

When Zhang Qi heard such a good thing, he bowed three times, thanked profusely and left.

As soon as they left, the meeting hall returned to silence.

There were not many people in the meeting hall at this time. Since the matter involved the eldest princess, it was too sensitive to make it public. So apart from Mo Tingfeng, Song Weichen and Zhuang Yuheng, there were only Ding Heran and Ye Wujiu in the room. They all knew Song Weichen's true identity, so there was no need to hide what they said.

"Wujiu, what do you think about Zhang Qi's statement that the body was washed onto the pleasure boat by the current?"

"Sir, I think it is just the beginning of spring, not the flood season. If the body was thrown into the river from upstream, it would be difficult for it to drift to the pleasure boat with the current strength."

"Even if the flow rate allows, if the deceased fell into the water from Si Chen Mansion, there are at least three narrower locations where the body can be intercepted before reaching the water column of the pleasure boat. From a probability perspective, the possibility of being stuck in Wangjiang South is not high."

"Therefore, I tend to believe that Xiao'an's body was deliberately placed there by someone, and the purpose was very clear - they knew who was on the boat and intended to let the people on the boat find it."

Mo Tingfeng nodded. Ye Wujiu's analysis was basically consistent with his.

Then the next question is obvious - who did this deliberately and for what purpose? .
Song Weichen didn't say anything, just listened silently.

She looked sick and listless, but still insisted on staying in the meeting hall. Mo Tingfeng and Zhuang Yuheng suggested several times to send her back to Wuqingju to rest, but she was rejected. How could she go back?

The dead person was Xiao'an, the little girl who had stopped her and Guyu outside the Venerable's Mansion four or five hours ago to show her concern for Bai Lu's safety.

How old was she? She looked no more than fifteen or sixteen, the age of a flower bud. I could still see her running back to the Venerable's Mansion with her skirt in hand. How could she have died in such an unclear manner?

Could it be that someone had seen Xiao'an having a secret conversation with her and Guyu, and was worried that some conspiracy hidden in the Venerable's mansion would be leaked, which led to this little girl suffering such a misfortune?

If this is true, wouldn't I be the indirect murderer of this little girl?
Thinking of this, Song Weichen couldn't sleep or eat. She must solve the case as soon as possible and catch the murderer who killed Xiao'an with her own hands!

"Cough, cough." She took out a handkerchief and covered her mouth. Her qi and blood were disordered due to her restless heart. She had coughed up blood several times since she found Xiao'an's body. She was only able to hold on with her iron willpower.

How could Zhuang Yuheng, who was sitting next to Song Weichen, not notice how weak she was? But when this little girl got serious, not to mention ten oxen, even a thousand oxen couldn't pull her back. He had no better way except to feed her a pill every hour and give her acupuncture on several important acupoints.

Thanks to Zhuang Yuheng's presence, Song Weichen was able to remain sober, not miss any information related to the case, and insist on participating in every important link of the evidence.

For example, at this moment, the coroner from Si Chen Mansion who performed the autopsy on Xiao An has completed the autopsy and came to the meeting hall to report to Mo Tingfeng.
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"Your Excellency, after an external examination, we have basically determined the cause of death - there were no blunt force injuries or skin injuries on the deceased's body, his private parts were intact and no signs of abuse were found, and there were no signs of poisoning or inhalation of drugs. The cause of death was suffocation due to choking on water."

"Considering the environment in which the body was found, it cannot be ruled out that the death was caused by suffocation due to falling into the water."

After saying this, the coroner took two steps back and waited for further instructions.

Mo Tingfeng hadn't said anything yet, but Song Weichen just shook his head. The coroner said Xiao An "accidentally fell into the water and drowned" - no, she definitely couldn't have accidentally fallen into the water!
"Was there no sign of struggle before the deceased died?"

Song Weichen couldn't help but ask.

She was not wearing a white robe at the moment. In terms of her identity, she was just an ordinary zither player in Si Chen Mansion. According to convention, the coroner should not answer any of her questions.

But after all, she was the main witness at the crime scene and was specially allowed to enter the meeting hall by Lord Si Chen, so the coroner treated her with respect and answered all her questions.

"To answer the girl, there are no signs of struggle, nor any signs of being tied up."

"Are you sure she didn't take any drugs? Didn't she lose her self-awareness due to witchcraft?"

"Yes, definitely not."

……

Song Weichen was silent for a while, and suddenly, she looked up at the coroner.

"Where is Xiao'an's body now?"

"To answer the young lady, the deceased has no relatives and is currently being kept in the newly opened Ice Cellar Charity Cemetery in Sichen Mansion, together with the three charred corpses brought back from the Hidden Mist Village. They will be buried after the autopsy is completed."

Speaking of which, the Si Chen Mansion originally did not have a charity cemetery because the identities and origins of the three charred corpses brought back from the Hidden Mist Village had not yet been determined, and it had not been determined why they entered the underground chamber. Therefore, they could not be buried and needed to be stored somewhere.

Also, because Qin Xueying was going to stay in the mansion for a while, it was inappropriate to leave the body in the dungeon in the mansion, so they bought an ice cellar outside the southwest gate next to Si Chen Mansion, which the original owner was planning to sell, and converted it into a charity cemetery exclusively for the mansion.

This coroner was an official sent from the government office in the area under the jurisdiction of Sichen Mansion after the establishment of the charity cemetery. Song Weichen only knew that his surname was Xu. He was said to have a lot of experience and lived in the charity cemetery with four assistants.

Actually, Xiao'an was the first real case that Coroner Xu took on after he took up his post at Sichen Mansion.

But the cause of death of this degree was not difficult to determine, so it only took him an incense stick of time to come back and report.

……

"Ice Cellar Charity House."

Song Weichen muttered these words and suddenly stood up. Zhuang Yuheng subconsciously reached out to help her.

"I want to go see the little eucalyptus."

"This……"

Coroner Xu looked at Song Weichen with some embarrassment. Even though she was a core witness, she was not an investigator after all, so it was not appropriate for her to enter the charity cemetery.

"That place has countless frozen bodies to prevent them from decaying, so the air there is extremely cold and gloomy. I'm afraid Miss Sang is not suitable to go there."

The coroner refused in a more tactful way.

Song Weichen didn't say anything either, but turned to look at Mo Tingfeng with an expressionless face.

"Sang Pu, you..."

Mo Tingfeng couldn't hide the heartache on her face. She had always been timid. She was the one who was frightened to vomit when she saw old human bones at first. But now she took the initiative to propose to go to that kind of place to perform an autopsy. If she hadn't been determined, she would never say it.

"Don't worry, I can handle it. Take me with you."

Song Weichen spoke in a low voice, but there was a power in his voice that could not be rejected.

Mo Tingfeng pondered for a moment, then turned to look at the coroner.

"Sang Pu happened to have seen the deceased at noon. It would be okay for her to go and take a look. Maybe there will be new discoveries that can help solve the case. Several of us should go."

"Yes, I will follow your orders! I will lead the way for you and the others."

Mo Tingfeng nodded and walked towards Song Weichen, but Zhuang Yuheng, who had been guarding her side, took a step forward and blocked him behind him.

"Ting Feng."

Zhuang Yuheng called out to Mo Tingfeng, and the meaning was obvious: she couldn't go. The most important thing she should do now was to rest in bed instead of going to see the corpse.

Mo Tingfeng sighed softly and stretched out his hand forward. Song Weichen's cold little hand passed over Zhuang Yuheng and took the initiative to hold his.

"Yuheng, let's go together. Don't you know her personality? This little girl is soft-hearted and stubborn. Once she makes a decision, she won't listen no matter how hard you talk."

"It would be better to fulfill her wish as soon as possible so that she can feel at ease."
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The group followed Xu the coroner to the Ice Cellar Charity Cemetery outside the southwest gate of Si Chen Mansion.

The Ice Cellar Charity House, as its name suggests, is as cold as an ice cave. No one knows how Xu the coroner and his several apprentice helpers manage to stay here on a daily basis.

Song Weichen was wearing Mo Tingfeng's black cloak. Even so, her breath was full of breath, but she didn't care.

All her attention was fixed on the man on the plank bed in the middle of the room.