Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 20 Her ability
"Secondly, I suspect that Mr. Lu is investigating more than just Zhou Jiulang's death. There may be another case within the case, isn't it?"

After Murong Huan finished speaking, Lu Ling's expression became more serious. As an investigator, he would be suspicious of everyone involved in the case.

Lu Ling asked coldly, "How did you know this?"

Murong Huan smiled again and said, "With Lu Shaoqing's status, the death of Zhou Jiulang should not be the case for you, a fourth-rank official, to personally investigate this case, unless there is something more attractive to Lu Shaoqing or something that Lu Shaoqing must pay attention to.

First, it's a case within a case, and second, its influence is great enough to attract the attention of the imperial court, and there's an imperial decree ordering Lu Shaoqing to investigate the case as quickly as possible!"

Lu Ling's expression suddenly changed.

At this time, Murong Huan said, "One more thing... Lu Shaoqing still has the stench of a long-decayed corpse on his body, as well as the damp, cold, and decadent air at the bottom of the well. So I guess Lu Shaoqing must have discovered another corpse at the bottom of the well at the crime scene, right?"

When Murong Huan said this, even the young man in red who seemed to be watching the show at the side stopped teasing in his eyes and became surprised and quiet.

Lu Ling's expression was even more serious, and he couldn't utter a word of rebuttal.

The corpse at the bottom of the well was discovered by several detectives who stayed at the crime scene while searching for clues after Zhou Jiulang's body was carried back to the Dali Temple. Lu Ling did not make it public for fear of scaring the surrounding people.

But now, this young man who looks no more than a man with a bun on his head can actually infer that there is a corpse at the bottom of the well just by the smell on his body. It is really unbelievable.

Lu Ling became even more suspicious.

A gust of wind blew by, and the sycamore leaves in front of the Su family mansion made a rustling sound. Time seemed to stand still for a moment. Lu Ling seemed to come back to his senses from his chaotic thoughts. He raised his hand again and said, "Go on, what about the third thing?"

"The third thing..." Murong Huan asked Ah Shu to bring him a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. "I'll use one brush to draw what Lu Shaoqing looked like when he was ten years old. Let Lu Shaoqing see if he looks like him. How about that?"

After these words were spoken, the young man in red beside Lu Ling looked even more surprised and interested.

"You can draw too? And you can draw what Lu Shaoqing looked like as a child based on his current appearance?"

Murong Huan nodded.

"Please! Please draw!"

Before Lu Ling could say anything, the young man in red couldn't wait to speak first.

Murong Huan gestured to A Shu, and A Shu prepared ink for Murong Huan's inkstone, brought a screen, and spread white paper on it.

Murong Huan watched Lu Ling carefully outline each stroke.

She was painting so seriously that Lu Ling, who was being stared at by her, actually felt a little embarrassed.

The young man in red couldn't wait to stand behind Murong Huan, watching her sketch with her brush and paint with ink until the painting was finally completed.

The red-clothed youth's eyes flashed with extreme horror: "Are you sure you're drawing Lu Shaoqing's appearance when he was ten years old?"

Old Madam Su felt something was wrong, so she ran over to take a look. She saw a child with an extremely bloated body in the painting made by Murong Huan!
Madam Su suddenly became anxious and scolded him harshly, "You bastard, why don't you apologize to Lu Shaoqing! Lu Shaoqing was so handsome and heroic. How could he be like this when he was little?"

The young man in red was displeased when he heard this: "What does Madam Su mean by this? What's wrong with her expression?"

"Yeah! What's wrong with this look?" Ah Shu also asked, "Being chubby is very cute!"

The young man in red was stunned when he heard this. He looked at Ah Shu with some disdain and immediately greeted Lu Ling:
"Jiro, come and see! Come and see! Do you think they look alike? Speaking of which, you and I grew up together. I still can't forget the ugly look you had when you were ten..."

Before the young man in red could finish his words, he was met with a glare from Lu Ling. Suddenly realizing that he had said something wrong, the young man in red immediately covered his mouth and swallowed the rest of his words.

Lu Ling also came to Murong Huan's painting with a little curiosity.

At this moment, what surprised everyone was that Lu Ling, who had originally had a serious expression on his face, was actually stunned when he saw the person in the painting. There was some incredible change in his expression, and in the end he couldn't help but put his hand on the face of the child in the painting.

"How is it? Is it exactly the same as when you were a child?" the young man in red whispered in his ear.

Lu Ling seemed to remember something, with a hint of sadness in his eyes. He was silent for a long time before he moved his hand away from the painting and looked at Murong Huan.

"Is this your ability? Using your keen sense of smell to identify scents and drawing what people looked like when they were little?"

"Being able to draw Lu Shaoqing's childhood appearance is not a big deal?" Murong Huan said with a smile, and then suddenly changed the subject, "My specialty is that I can draw the appearance of Bai Kuo in his lifetime, and I can also draw the sinful soul of the murderer!"

As soon as these words were spoken, everything seemed to be still, and everyone in front of the Su family mansion looked at Murong Huan in surprise.

"I can paint the appearance of a skeleton in life, and I can also paint the sinful soul of a murderer?"

Lu Ling couldn't help but repeat this sentence.

At this moment, his eyes revealed a genuine sense of surprise and curious interest.

He looked at Murong Huan, who also looked up at him, his eyes confident and resolute as he replied:
"Yes! I wonder if I can become Lu Shaoqing's assistant in investigating the case and tracking down the murderer?"

The corners of Lu Ling's lips finally raised to the first smile of the day.

He suddenly extended his long arms, his black cape fluttering, and his men leaped onto their horses, commanding his detectives, "Take them all away!"

……

As the cavalry galloped away, Murong Huan and Su Sanlang were snatched from their horses by a few unruly capturers, suddenly transforming into a black speck in the cloud of dust. Old Madam Su suddenly let out a horrific scream, as if having a nightmare, and fainted. Several servants of the Su family rushed out to help, and a flurry of people and horses suddenly erupted in front of the courtyard.

After waiting for a long time, Mrs. Su finally woke up and burst into heart-wrenching tears again.

"What a scoundrel! He's only been back for a few days, just a few days! My Su family has already been turned upside down. If this continues, will the whole family suffer along with him?

"Why is she showing off? If she can't draw it, then don't draw it. Who is Lu Shaoqing? He's a famous and well-known young man from a prominent family. She actually painted a well-dressed young man like that. Isn't this mocking him? Isn't she courting death?"

"It would be fine if she just wanted to die herself! But why did she bring my grandson Sanlang with her?"

Qin was also crying beside him: "What should we do now? The people in the Dali Temple won't torture Sanlang to extract a confession, right?" Then she looked at Su Qing, "Didn't you say that everything would be fine? Didn't you say that as long as I kept quiet, Sanlang would be fine? Why was he taken away anyway?"

Su Qing was also annoyed and suddenly shouted, "Stop arguing!"

"Ah Huan didn't draw it wrong. She drew Lu Shaoqing as a child. I heard everything that red-robed constable whispered in Lu Ling's ear! But the problem now isn't the painting. Lu Shaoqing didn't take her and Sanlang away just because she drew a picture!"

"If not for a painting, then what is it for?"

"To investigate the case! Isn't that obvious?"

Su Qing paused for a moment, then paused, "My only concern now is whether she and Sanlang will be attacked or framed by others after entering the Dali Temple."

"No, I need to find someone to help me with this. I need them to come back as soon as possible!"

When he read this, he thought of his third brother's wife, Qiu, and hurriedly found her to ask, "Dear wife, our Sanlang and Ah Huan definitely had nothing to do with Zhou Jiulang's death. Can you ask your father to help take care of him?"

Qiu's eyes flashed, and she said, "Of course, I'll talk to my father about this right away, and I'll definitely be able to rescue Sanlang!"

"That's good, that's good!"

……

On the streets of Guiyifang, a monk led a group of cavalrymen and rushed past, scaring the people on the street and causing them to flee in all directions.

Lu Ling ordered a group of detectives to clear the way ahead. When they passed by this place, they saw the tragic scene of horses' hooves trampling. Because the horse was too fast, a woman with a child could not dodge in time and was almost killed by the horse's hooves.

Fortunately, a dart in Lu Ling's hand flew across the horse's hoof, causing the horse to turn sharply and gallop away. At the same time, the young man in red beside him jumped up and picked up the child who was about to fall under the horse's hoof.

Murong Huan looked at this scene, and a hint of coldness gradually appeared in his eyes. Some of this person's past and the foreshadowing of his death seemed to appear in his mind.

"Who is he?" she couldn't help asking.

After handing the child to the woman, the young man in red walked over to her and said, "Xue Huaiyi!" He then leaned over to Murong Huan's ear and added, "On paper, he's a monk from the White Horse Temple, but in reality, he's a... male concubine who built the Mingtang for the saint!"

When the young man in red said this, Lu Ling shouted, "Shut up, Shiyilang, what are you talking about?"

"Okay, okay, I'll shut up! I'll shut up!"

The young man in red smiled, and while Lu Ling wasn't paying attention, he leaned close to Murong Huan's ear again and continued in a low voice, "This man's original name was Feng Xiaobao. He was recommended by Princess Qianjin and was favored by the Saint. He became a male concubine who flatters the emperor. I heard that his skills in bed are very good..." Before he finished speaking, he heard Ah Shu's low voice: "Hey, my dear, what nonsense are you talking about?"

The young man in red was startled and glared at Ah Shu, "What did I say? I'm telling the truth, why are you blushing?"

Ah Shu was very angry and didn't dare to say anything more, fearing that her identity as a woman would be exposed.

Murong Huan, however, nonchalantly continued, "So, he's relying on the Saint's favor to act so recklessly on the streets of Luoyang?"

"That's right. He's been relying on the emperor's favor and is completely lawless. He just loves to ride fast horses with a group of people on the streets of Luoyang City. Over the past few years, there have been dozens, if not hundreds, of people killed by his horses. The censors have also impeached him, but no one has been able to do anything to him!"

Having said this, he chuckled and changed the subject, "However, I heard that the Saint has now fallen in love with another imperial physician named Shen, so he has ignored him. This monk has been a little irritable lately!"

Ah Shu looked at Murong Huan with a red face, wishing she could cover the mouth of the young man in red. At this moment, the sound of horse hooves came again from the front. It turned out that the man named Xi Huaiyi had returned.

"Lu Ling, what do you mean? Why did you stab my horse with a dart just now?"

Lu Ling said, "Your horse startled the people and almost trampled a little girl to death!"

"What's the big deal about disturbing the people? It didn't even startle you, so why are you meddling in other people's business?"

Lu Ling was so angry that he was speechless. He was not good at sophistry, so he simply kept his mouth shut.

Just as he was about to spur his horse forward, he heard a voice behind him say, "Disturbing the people is no small matter; it's a matter of immense importance. Under the rule of a sage, the Buddha has compassion for all living beings. The well-being of the people is the foundation of a prosperous and strong nation. You treat the people's well-being with such disdain. Do you not take the sage's way of governing a country seriously?"

Hearing this, Lu Ling was suddenly shocked and immediately turned around to look for the source of the voice. He saw that the person who spoke was Murong Huan.

The young man in red's eyes also lit up, and he looked at Murong Huan with surprise.

Xue Huaiyi was so angry that he immediately rode over and cast a vicious look at Murong Huan.

"Who is this guy? Is he the suspect arrested by Lu Shaoqing? How dare a suspect like this challenge this general? Come on, kill him!"

(End of this chapter)