Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 41 The Strange Madam Guo
Lu Shiyilang quickly "invited" the housekeeper of the Guo family to the Dali Temple.

As soon as he entered the interrogation room of the Dali Temple, the housekeeper of the Guo family was so frightened that he broke out in a cold sweat and quickly knelt down.

"I didn't kill them. I just followed the master's orders and handed the two dead bodies over to others to dispose of them."

"That means it was your family head who killed him!"

"No, not the master, it's... it's the First Lady! Ever since Second Young Master passed away, the First Lady has been acting crazy for the past two days. She suspects that Second Young Master's two new concubines are seducing our master, so she often beats and scolds the maids in the mansion. The two concubines were accidentally beaten to death by the First Lady."

"If they were killed accidentally, why did they disfigure them after they died and then have their bodies dumped at the Ruyi Restaurant to frame Su Silangjun? What was Madam Guo's intention in doing this?"

When Lu Ling asked this, the housekeeper's face froze. He stammered for a long time before saying, "I don't know. Maybe the eldest lady was jealous of the two concubines because of their beauty. Our eldest lady has a plain appearance. Since she married into the Guo family, she has not been favored by the head of the family. The head of the family has also taken in several concubines. She only stays in the rooms of the other concubines every day and has not entered the eldest lady's room for several years. In fact, the second young master was also snatched from a concubine by the eldest lady and raised under her knees. Later, the concubine died of illness because she missed her son so much. Since then, the eldest lady has been like a madman. She always dreams that someone wants to harm her, and she often beats and scolds the servants when she is in a bad mood.

It just so happened that our Erlang had died for no apparent reason alongside Zhou Jiulang. Although the case was closed, with Zhou Xing and his son having deserved their punishment, our eldest lady was still dissatisfied. She didn't dare confront the Dali Temple or the government, so she could only vent her anger by beating and scolding the servants. Unexpectedly, this beating went too far, killing Erlang's two concubines.

The housekeeper's words were full of hidden meaning. He was implicitly criticizing the Dali Temple for its unfair handling of the case and for failing to find out the truth about Guo Erlang's death.

Lu Ling understood what was going on, but he kept silent. Instead, he had Lu Shiyilang temporarily detain the housekeeper. He then called in the coroner, Xin Wei, and asked, "Have you found out the true cause of death for these two women?"

Xin Wei placed two bloody nails on the table and said, "These two women drank a lot of alcohol before they died. They both had sex with the same man, and there are traces of that on their bodies. Not only that, they both have whip marks and palm prints. The ultimate cause of death for both women was a bone-piercing nail." He pointed at the two nails on the table and continued, "That's why I suspect these two women must have fought fiercely with someone before they died. This may have been an assassination!"

"So the housekeeper lied. The two deceased were not beaten to death by the Madam."

Murong Huan continued, and then asked the coroner, "Coroner Xin, can you determine the approximate ages of these two deceased?"

"Yes, judging by the wear on their teeth and the looseness of their skin, we can infer that they are all young women, and this Xie Zi'e is probably no more than fifteen years old."

"Under fifteen?"

Xiao Muchen also seemed to have thought of something illogical, and Lu Ling asked curiously, "What's wrong?"

"The shopkeeper said that the Xie Zi'e he met a few years ago was already of marriageable age, and he also met Xie Zi'e a month ago."

Lu Ling also had doubts in his heart: "Could it be that there is something wrong with Su Silangjun's painting?"

"No!" Xiao Muchen said firmly, "I believe she has never seen this Xie Zi'e before, and she just drew this woman based on her bone structure.

I believe in her paintings!"

Lu Lingyi nodded and looked at Murong Huan: "If your painting is correct, then the shopkeeper must have lied?"

Murong Huan shook his head: "No, the shopkeeper won't lie. I guess there might be another Xie Zi'e."

"Another Xie Zi'e?" Lu Ling and Lu Shiyilang exclaimed in surprise at the same time.

"Yes, another person who looks similar!" After that, Murong Huan said, "Lu Shaoqing, I want to go and see the eldest lady of the Guo family. If you believe me, I will give you an answer in two days."

……

Lu Ling agreed to her time, and Murong Huan left the Dali Temple with Ah Shu and Xiao Muchen. When they were about to go to the Guo family, Xiao Muchen suddenly grabbed her hand and said, "You've been tossing and turning all night, aren't you tired? Let's go to my Xiao Mansion and rest for a while."

After tossing and turning in the Ruyi Restaurant for half the night, Murong Huan spent the rest of the night in the Dali Temple. He really didn't get a good night's sleep.

"I'm just afraid that the more time we waste, the more people will die!"

"You are a doubter, aren't you?"

When Xiao Muchen asked this, Murong Huan nodded. "Yes, I've only been in Luoyang City for a few days, and not many people know me. The Guo family has never seen me before, and where did they get my portrait from? Apart from the Su family, I can't think of anyone else."

"Then who in the Su family do you suspect wants to frame you?"

Murong Huan pondered for a moment and said, "It should be Mrs. Su San, Mrs. Qiu, and her father, Qiu Shenji!"

"I think it's unlikely that they just killed two people to set up this trap for me. The Guo family must have other secrets they want to hide, so I want to go and see for myself!"

Seeing how persistent she was, Xiao Muchen couldn't stop her anymore, but insisted on accompanying her to visit the Guo family.

At this time, the sky was already bright, the morning makeup broke the slight chill, the green ears of grass blew straight into the smoke, and groups of butterflies danced around the beams.

On the streets of Luoyang, there are many BMWs and luxurious carriages of princes and nobles, jade chariots galloping, golden whips whirring, dragons holding canopies, phoenixes holding tassels, facing the rosy glow of the sunset, sparkling with brilliant golden light, showing the prosperity of the divine capital Luoyang everywhere.

Xiao Muchen got a carriage from somewhere, and Murong Huan fell asleep as soon as he got on the carriage. When he woke up, he heard the rumbling of wheels. He seemed to be covered with a white feather cloak, and Xiao Muchen was sitting on the other side of the carriage, taking a nap with his eyes closed.

The pearl curtain was half rolled up, and the morning light filtered in, making the sleeping man look even more beautiful than a picture scroll.

But Murong Huan felt a sense of unreality: Xiao Muchen's kindness towards her seemed unusual. From childhood to adulthood, she had only felt pure kindness and concern from her father, mother, master, and Ah Shu. Others, like the Su family, were more likely to be indifferent and fearful of her.

Perhaps he noticed her gaze, but Xiao Muchen slowly opened his eyes and smiled warmly and gently at Murong Huan's stunned gaze.

This smile was like a warm spring flowing into Murong Huan's heart, and his heart gradually calmed down.

"Are you awake? It's rare that you didn't dream this time, right?"

Xiao Muchen's question broke her thoughts.

Murong Huan nodded and said, "Thank you!" He handed the white feather cloak covering his body to Xiao Muchen. Unexpectedly, Xiao Muchen said, "It's still a bit cold in early spring. You are wearing too thin. I asked Xuanyu to buy this coat from the street and I'm giving it to you!"

Murong Huan stopped refusing and suddenly asked, "Why are you being nice to me?"

This sudden question made Xiao Muchen stunned.

His expression changed, and Murong Huan caught a fleeting trace of guilt and pity, as well as a hint of incomprehensible sadness.

Immediately, he flicked her forehead lightly and said with a scolding smile:
"What are you thinking, little girl? Do I have to give a reason for being nice to you? Isn't it enough that I'm happy?" He paused and changed the subject, "Or, just think of it as me asking a favor of you! I still need you to cure my illness and prolong my life!"

Having said this, the carriage suddenly stopped.

"My dear, we have arrived at the Guo residence!"

With Xuan Yu's voice, the conversation in the carriage was interrupted. Xiao Muchen opened the curtain, got off the carriage, and extended his hand to Murong Huan.

Murong Huan hesitated for a moment, and finally got off the carriage by holding his wrist.

Ah Shu stared at this scene without blinking, somewhat dazed.

"What are you looking at? Go away, girl!"

It was Xuan Yu who reminded her and woke her up from her wild dream, and they quickly walked to the door of Guo's mansion.

Looking at the Guo family mansion with its flying eaves and overlapping golden tiles, with a plaque with two large gilded characters "Guo Mansion" hanging on the vermilion gate, and two huge stone lions in front of the gate, just the colorful lanterns painted with gold and splendor made Murong Huan a little surprised and thoughtful.

"Ah Huan, the Guo family seems to be quite wealthy!" Ah Shu couldn't help but sigh, "I wonder if they have any patients. If so, can we earn some money from their consultations?"

She couldn't go back to the Su family now, and she might have to live in the Xiao family in the future. Although Xiao Zhongcheng seemed easy to talk to, he was not Ah Huan's relative after all. After he recovered from his illness, she and Ah Huan would still have to leave.

Money is so important. Only with money can she buy a house in Luoyang City and she and Ah Huan can have their own home.

Murong Huan nodded: "Yes, isn't their eldest lady crazy?"

"That's great!" Ah Shu said happily.

Xuan Yu suddenly thought of Ah Shu's cheerful expression when he mentioned his husband's illness that day, and suddenly realized: "So what you said is so good, this is what you meant!"

"Yes, this way we can make money!"

Ah Shu happily knocked on the door, which suddenly opened. A doorman poked his head out and said rudely, "What are you doing? We at the Guo Mansion are not receiving guests recently!"

Murong Huan immediately pushed Xiao Muchen to the door: "Xiao Zhongcheng is under orders to investigate a case, and you won't let him in?"

The doorman's face changed with horror, and he didn't even care about opening the door. He hurried to report to the head of the Guo family.

About a cup of tea later, Murong Huan saw a burly middle-aged man leading a group of servants to the door. He smiled and bowed to Xiao Muchen and said, "It's Xiao Zhongcheng. I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person. Please forgive me!"

The moment he saw this man, a dark shadow flashed through Murong Huan's mind again.

Snowflakes were falling in the winter, and two extremely bright rays of light broke through the air, picking up countless bright red plum petals and making them fall.

Mother fell on the snow covered with plum blossoms...

When Murong Huan lost consciousness, Xiao Muchen smiled calmly: "I heard that the wife of Censor Guo is seriously ill and a little unconscious. Xiao specially brought a miracle doctor to take a look at her."

It turned out that this was the censor Guo Hongba who tasted feces.

Guo Hongba quickly refused, "To be honest with you, Minister Xiao, my wife's illness isn't something she's just had recently. It's been with her for a long time, but it's only gotten worse recently due to our son's death. I've also sought out famous doctors to see my wife, but they all said it's a heart disease that can't be cured, so..."

Before he finished speaking, Xiao Muchen said, "It just so happens that the miracle doctor I brought here specializes in treating heart diseases, and she won't treat an incurable disease."

(End of this chapter)