Tang Dynasty Puppet Doctor

Chapter 70: A Dream, Cause of Death
"Dream?"

When talking about this dream, Wu Jie's face turned red and he seemed embarrassed to say it out loud.

"When I ask you questions, just answer honestly!" Lu Shiyilang urged.

Wu Jie responded immediately, "I dreamed that I was invited by an envoy to a place called Huai'an Kingdom. I was also favored by a beautiful princess and was made her consort. I lived a life of luxury and luxury every day, and was so happy..."

"Bah, you still want to be a prince consort and the princess's male favorite, but even people may not look down on you with your ugly appearance!" Lu Shiyilang spat in disdain.

"Prefect Nanke?" Murong Huan exclaimed in surprise.

"Yes, yes, young lady, how did you know that I dreamt that I had become the Nan Ke governor?"

Murong Huan did not answer, but searched every corner of the interrogation room. Suddenly, he walked to a desk closer to Qiu and reached out to touch the table.

"What's wrong? Did you find anything?" Xiao Muchen walked over and asked.

"There's a layer of ash on top. It's the soot from the burning incense!"

When Murong Huan said this, Wu Jie seemed to have thought of something. His eyes lit up and he shouted, "Speaking of fragrance, I remember that when I was interrogating Qiu, I did smell a very special fragrance. The more I smelled it, the more I wanted to smell it. As I was smelling it, I seemed to fall asleep and had a beautiful dream..."

Speaking of incense, Xiao Muchen was reminded of the incense that Murong Huan lit in Xie's courtyard. The incense, stimulated by the sound of the flute, seemed to have the effect of inducing people to fall asleep.

The murderer was here! And he killed Qiu!
The murderer could not possibly be Murong Huan, so this person must have the same ability to control fragrance and hypnotize people as Murong Huan!

Xiao Muchen pondered this and asked the captain, "During your interrogation, did anyone else come into this interrogation room, or did anyone behave strangely pass by?"

Wu Jie shook his head. "Apart from Xiao Lu and me, there was no one else. Oh, only Qiu's husband brought some food over. He said he wanted to see his wife. After all, they are husband and wife. Even if she is sentenced to death, he wants her to have a good meal before she dies."

"So, you just let Qiu eat it?" Lu Shiyilang seemed to have thought of something and asked angrily, "Where are the things he brought? Where are they?"

"Si Zhi, Lu Shaoqing, I followed your instructions and didn't let him in. I did bring in food, but Qiu Shi refused to eat it. She absolutely refused to eat the food sent by Master Su Sanlang. She even said in a crazy way that the red thread had come and wanted to kill her!"

"Red line?"

Several people said in unison.

Murong Huan was still surprised.

"Could it be that the murderer's name is Hong Xian?" Lu Shiyilang guessed.

At this time, Wu Jie placed the food brought by Master Su Sanlang in front of Lu Ling, and Murong Huan came to check it personally.

"No poison. Master Su Sanlang wouldn't be so foolish as to personally send poison to kill her."

But it is definitely not a coincidence that Su Yu came to deliver food at this time. Could it be that he was covering up the murderer?

If so, what is his relationship with the murderer?
What exactly does the red line mean? There is a red line left on the ceiling of the cell, and Qiu also mentioned the word red line.

Could it be related to the story the master told?
There is also the remaining incense ash.

The death of Qiao Buque.

Qiu Shenji's disappearance...

Seeing Murong Huan lost in thought, Lu Shiyilang said, "I will go and bring Master Su Sanlang to the Dali Temple for questioning!"

"Wait—" Murong Huan stopped him and said, "Don't call him to the Dali Temple yet, Lu Shaoqing, Shiyilang. I have a feeling the murderer seems to be watching our every move. To avoid alerting the enemy, it would be better to send someone to monitor him secretly."

"Let me do the secret surveillance!" Xiao Muchen continued.

Murong Huan nodded and smiled, then asked Lu Ling, "How did Qiao Buque die? Has the coroner found out?"

Qiao Buque's death is closely related to Qiu Shenji's disappearance, Guo Hongba's death, and now Qiu's death. Although Murong Huan has a guess in his mind, he still has to find out the real cause of death.

Lu Ling called in the coroner, Xin Wei. When Xin Wei saw another body in the interrogation room, he was shocked: "Why is there another body?"

"I looked into her mouth and it seemed like she bit her tongue to commit suicide, but the specific cause of death would still require Coroner Xin to examine it carefully," said Lu Shiyilang.

Xin Wei replied with a "yes." At this moment, Xiao Muchen asked directly, "How did Qiao Buque die?"

Xin Wei replied: "He was suffocated by someone covering his nose. He drank a lot of alcohol before his death and did not struggle much. The corners of his mouth were upturned, as if he was still in a sweet dream. Oh, there was a piece of silk hidden on his body..." As he spoke, Xin Wei handed the silk to Xiao Muchen.

Xiao Muchen opened it and saw that it contained the poem he had heard in the tavern last night: "The Shi family's golden valley has regained its reputation, ten hu of pearls have bought a beautiful girl. This day is pitiful, yet I am still self-satisfied, at this moment, singing and dancing to win the favor of the people... A hundred years of separation and hatred in the high tower, a generation of beauty has been lost for you."

"Green Pearl's Complaint?" Lu Shiyilang asked in confusion, "Why did he write this poem and keep it on his body?"

"He should have intended this poem for Biyu, the maidservant he presented to the King of Wei," Murong Huan replied.

"Give it to Biyu? Ha, everyone in Luoyang City knows that he presented his beloved maid to the King of Wei and got a black hat in return. What's the point of giving this poem to her now? Does it prove how affectionate he is?" Lu Shiyilang said sarcastically with disdain.

Murong Huan seemed to have a premonition of something and his expression suddenly changed.

"not good--"

"what happened again?"

"That Jade Lady... might be dead now!"

She suddenly pulled Xiao Muchen's hand and was about to run out of the Dali Temple, but was stopped by Xiao Muchen.

"Where are you going? To save Biyu?" Xiao Muchen asked, "It's probably too late to go now. If Qiao Buque had already delivered this poem to Biyu, then Madam Biyu might have committed suicide by now."

"Suicide?" Lu Shiyilang raised his voice in surprise. "Why would she commit suicide? Wouldn't it be nice to live in wealth and glory with the King of Wei?"

At this time, Lu Ling continued, "Because the original intention of the poem "Lü Zhu's Complaint" was to praise Lu Zhu for jumping off a building to die in order to preserve her chastity and resist Sun Xiu, Qiao Zhizhi probably wrote this poem to tell Bi Yu that he would meet her in the underworld!"

If we can't be together in life, we will be together in death!

It sounds like an extremely sad and touching story.

Lu Shiyilang sighed contemptuously, "So Qiao Zhizhi wanted Biyu to commit suicide in the name of love? Damn, isn't this just tempting others to commit suicide? So vicious!" He turned his attention to Lu Ling and said, "But, Shilang, how did you know?"

"I..." Lu Ling didn't know how to respond for a moment. He glared and said angrily, "Isn't it enough to use the story of Lu Zhu and Shi Chong to infer the relationship between Qiao Zhizhi and Biyu? Why are you asking so many questions? Investigate the case!"

"Yes, yes, investigate the case!"

At this time, Murong Huan suggested: "Qiao Buque would not commit suicide. If we want to know the true cause of his death, we have to go to the Qiao family mansion and check the first crime scene where he died in his sleep, and what happened to him last night."

At this point, she bowed to Lu Ling and said, "I also ask Mr. Lu to allow me to check with the warrant."

Lu Ling nodded in agreement.

Murong Huan took Xiao Muchen's hand and prepared to go to the Qiao family. However, just as they were leaving the interrogation room, they were met by a constable who hurriedly reported, "Lu Shaoqing, there are people at the door. They were brought by the Imperial Censor Lai Junchen. They claim to have brought the will of the Saint."

"Coming to Junchen?"

Lu Ling's face changed. Lai Junchen had a bad reputation. Recently, he heard that His Majesty had set up a new court inside Lijing Gate. Some people rumored that this was a newly opened prison, and Lai Junchen was the head of the court.

He had heard that since Lai Junchen followed King Wei to the throne, what he did was even more outrageous than Zhou Xing. Almost every day, someone went into the Court of Judges, but once they went in, they could never come out.

"What is he doing in the Dali Temple?"

Lu Ling was displeased and walked out quickly with Xiao Muchen and Murong Huan. They saw Lai Junchen wearing an official uniform, with a mustache at the corners of his mouth, a flattering look in his eyes, and an arrogant look.

"Hey, so Xiao Zhongcheng is here too!" He first glanced at Xiao Muchen, then turned to Murong Huan, "With such a beautiful young lady by his side, Xiao Zhongcheng is so lucky."

"What are you doing here?" Xiao Muchen frowned unhappily.

Lai Junchen chuckled and said, "To answer the Zhongcheng's question, I'm here on the orders of the Emperor. I heard that the Dali Temple brought back a body yesterday. It's the body of Qiao Buque, Qiao Zhizhi. Is that true or not?"

"Yes!" Lu Ling stood up and answered.

"What a coincidence! This morning, I found a puppet in Qiao Buque's house. On the back of the puppet was a handwritten note cursing the Saint and accusing him of treason. The Saint was furious when he saw it, and has now issued an order to execute Qiao Zhizhi's entire family!"

(End of this chapter)