Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 111 Cause of Death, Motive

Xuan Yu said, "It's strange to say. Many things happened too coincidentally today. This Zheng family lady has a rather domineering temperament. She was frightened by the puppet doll yesterday and started beating and scolding her maids when she got home. This morning, she said she was going to the temple to burn incense, so she left in a donkey cart. But just as she was passing Xiushanfang, a group of Hu merchants on the street suddenly started making a commotion. A passing egg vendor was caught in the act. Two baskets of eggs fell to the ground, causing the ground to be covered in egg liquid and making the road very slippery.

Many people fell to the ground, piled up like a pyramid, and the noise blocked Zheng Shuxiao's path. She was so angry that she stepped out of the donkey cart. But the moment she stepped out, a sharpened bamboo shoot suddenly shot out and pierced Zheng Shuxiao's chest.

Xuan Yu's face showed guilt when he said this, "My dear, I didn't react at that moment. There was a little boy who fell on the road. I was worried that he would be run over by the passing carriages, so I went to help him. Who knew that in just a moment... this happened.

I've been watching her for the entire night and half a day, and I haven't rested yet!"

"Who threw the bamboo?"

"It was a big man selling bamboo. When I asked him, he acted very innocently. He said he accidentally stepped on some egg liquid and the bamboo in his hand slipped out of his hand, and it happened to prick Zheng Shuxiao."

"Now that big man has been taken back to the Dali Temple and is crying out for justice!"

"Where is the little boy you helped?" Murong Huan asked.

"I didn't pay much attention to this one. He seemed to be a ragged little beggar. After I helped him up, he ran away immediately. I didn't even have time to see what he looked like."

Xiao Muchen rolled his eyes at him coldly and said, "This is definitely not a coincidence, but a premeditated conspiracy. Where is Zheng Shuxiao's body now?"

"Lu Ling has already taken the body back to the Dali Temple. I wanted to have the coroner perform an autopsy, but the Zheng family came to the Dali Temple and refused to allow the body of the Zheng family lady to be damaged. So I guess it should have been taken back to the Zheng family now."

"Let's go to the Zheng family right away."

When Murong Huan was led out of Madam Cui's courtyard hand in hand by Xiao Muchen, he couldn't help but look back at the blind zither player, and a guess immediately flashed through his mind.

The blind musician did not show any unusual reaction when he heard what Xuan Yu said. He stood there motionless like a puppet.

"What's wrong?" Xiao Muchen asked curiously.

"Do you find anything unusual about this blind musician?"

Xiao Muchen smiled and replied, "When you were treating Madam Cui, I chatted with him for a while. He said he was an orphan who wandered the streets when he was young and nearly starved to death. A noble lady saved him and gave him a bowl of rice. Later, the lady also gave him money so that he could learn the zither, and eventually he became a musician in a music studio.

He played the qin very well and gradually gained a reputation in the Puzhou area. Moreover, because his qin sound had the effect of calming the mind, he was invited by some wealthy families. He came to Luoyang two weeks ago at the invitation of Cui Ying, the fourth wife of the Cui family.

At this point, he asked again: "What do you think is unusual about him? If he is the murderer, he has an alibi for Zheng Shuxiao's death, and even we can prove it."

"Yes, but I just think it's all too coincidental. Why was he here when we were invited to the Cui family? And why did Cui Ying, the fourth lady of Cui, ask him to play the piano for Madam Cui?"

Xiao Muchen also had some doubts in his heart, and took Murong Huan's hand and said, "No rush, let's go to the Zheng family first and see who Zheng Shuxiao has offended. Maybe we can find the murderer's motive for killing."

……

When they arrived at the Zheng family's house in Sigongfang, white silk was already hung on the door. A group of women were crying in front of the hall, and there was constant noise inside.

When Xiao Muchen handed over the visiting card, Lu Shiyilang also arrived with a group of detectives.

At first, Zheng Ye, the head of the Zheng family, refused to see the guests. Later, when he heard that people from the Dali Temple were coming with the Chief Censor, he asked the housekeeper to welcome the three of them in.

"My Zheng family's legitimate daughter was murdered in the street. The Dali Temple should catch the real murderer as soon as possible and give my daughter an explanation. Why don't they interrogate the murderers instead of causing trouble in my Zheng family?"

Murong Huan continued, "Master Zheng has misunderstood. We are not here to cause trouble, but to ask some questions so that we can find the real culprit as soon as possible."

"What do you mean?"

"It means that your daughter's death was not an accident, but someone deliberately arranged this accident to kill your daughter."

After Lu Shiyilang finished speaking, Murong Huan took out the puppet carved to resemble Zheng Shuxiao and held it in front of Zheng Ye: "Look at this puppet, doesn't it look like your daughter?"

Zheng Ye's expression changed drastically: "Where did this puppet of yours come from?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Madam Zheng seemed to have witnessed something incredible and suddenly screamed hysterically at Murong Huan, "It was you... you cursed her with this evil oath. It was you who cursed my daughter to death?"

"Someone come! Send her to see the official!"

Mrs. Zheng shouted and stretched out her hand towards Murong Huan, but was blocked by Xiao Muchen.

Murong Huan felt a little suspicious, as this Madam Zheng seemed to have an inexplicable hostility towards her.

At this time, Lu Shiyilang continued, "Madam Zheng, please don't talk nonsense. This puppet was given to the Princess Jiahe by someone else. We are here precisely because of this case and want to find out the truth. Are you going to let an innocent person take the blame for your daughter's death just because of your empty words?" "Princess Jiahe?"

When Mrs. Zheng's eyes met the gazes of Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan again, she couldn't help but shudder.

"So it turns out that you are the newly appointed Princess of Jiahe County by the Saint. I apologize for my disrespect."

After saying that, he called a maid to pour tea for Xiao Muchen and the other two, but Xiao Muchen refused.

"No need. We're just here to ask a few questions. Has your daughter Zheng Shuxiao ever had a grudge against anyone? Or, in other words, has she ever done anything wrong to hurt others?"

"No, no, my daughter is very smart and well-behaved. Apart from staying in the backyard, she occasionally goes to the Bailiang Poetry Society. She is good friends with several young ladies from the Cui, Lu and Wang families. She has never offended anyone and has never done anything wrong." Mrs. Zheng immediately continued.

"But why did I hear that Miss Zheng often beats and scolds the maidservants?"

When Xiao Muchen said this, Murong Huan noticed that all the maids in the hall lowered their heads, as if avoiding something.

"Who said that? This is slandering my daughter's reputation!"

Xiao Muchen didn't want to talk to her any more, so he asked, "Where is your daughter's personal maid? Can we meet her?"

Madam Zheng seemed very embarrassed and said, "That girl is now..."

Before she could finish her words, a maid came rushing in and said anxiously, "Madam, it's bad! Qinghong jumped into the well!"

"Who is Qinghong?" Lu Shiyilang couldn't help but ask.

Zheng Ye sighed and replied, "She is my daughter Ah Xiao's personal maid."

Hearing this, Lu Shiyilang immediately asked, "Where is the well? Take me there!"

……

Murong Huan and Xiao Muchen followed the Zheng family to the backyard and saw Lu Shiyilang fishing a young girl out of the bottom of the well.

The girl was already dying. Lu Shiyilang was at a loss as to how to save her. He just shouted, "Why don't you go get a doctor!"

Murong Huan interrupted, "Lu Shiyilang, why don't you take Qinghong to the Dali Temple?" Then he turned to Zheng Ye and Madam Zheng and said, "We would like to borrow this maid. Do you have any objections, Master Zheng and Madam Zheng?"

Mrs. Zheng's mouth twitched as she looked at the girl named Qinghong, whose face was pale, lips were bloodless, and whose chest seemed to have no movement at all. She thought to herself: She is just a dead person. What's the point of going there?

So, Madam Zheng said, "No, as long as Princess Jiahe doesn't mind it being unlucky, that's all that's fine!"

Zheng Ye also frowned but did not express any objection.

Murong Huan nodded and signaled Lu Shiyilang to order two constables to carry Qinghong out. She and Xiao Muchen also left the Zheng mansion together and got on the carriage.

As soon as they got on the carriage, Murong Huan began to squeeze out the water in Qinghong's abdominal cavity. After about half a cup of tea of ​​rescue time, Qinghong finally woke up.

Lu Shiyilang was stunned when he saw it.

"My dear, you can really even bring the dead back from the brink of death. I just checked her breathing and she was clearly dead."

Qinghong also looked confused. As soon as she woke up, she asked, "Who are you?"

Murong Huan said, "Don't be afraid. We rescued you because we want to ask you about your daughter, Zheng Shuxiao. Who do you think is most likely to kill her? Who has she offended?"

Qinghong shook her head: "I can't tell you. If I tell you, my wife will definitely kill me."

Lu Shiyilang continued, "What nonsense are you talking about? According to the laws of our Great Zhou, masters cannot arbitrarily beat or kill their servants. Even if you are a servant of the Zheng family, as long as you haven't committed any serious crimes, Madam Zheng wouldn't dare to kill you. What are you afraid of?"

"Just answer whatever this young lady asks."

Qinghong then started to cry, and with a look of horror on her face, she said, "It must be her. She must be here to seek revenge on the girl. That bleeding puppet doll yesterday was a curse on her..."

"Who is she?" Xiao Muchen asked.

"Her name is Lu Yingying. She was originally just the daughter of a tofu vendor, but she was favored by Madam Cui and adopted as her daughter. This fact made several young ladies from the Cui and Zheng families who followed Madam Cui in Puzhou very unhappy. So, my daughter would often join those young ladies in bullying her..."