Period drama: Old Cao's carefree life

Chapter 125 Teasing Duomen, you wouldn't happen to be eyeing his wife, would you?
The two then led several patrol officers to the crime scene. Duomen returned not only to retrieve his belongings, but more importantly, to call for reinforcements.

When he returned, a large crowd had already gathered around. It was clear that three police officers alone could not maintain order while also conducting a safe investigation of the scene.

On his way to the crime scene, Cao Weida sighed inwardly, knowing he was going to waste at least a few more chances to slack off today.

He didn't want to get involved, but seeing Master Duo's worried face and feeling guilty, he could only silently feel sorry for him.

"Master Duo, the matter of Sang Liuji is basically over."

Cao Wei Da gave a general account of what happened. It was indeed a matter that needed to be kept secret, but it wasn't that confidential.

As long as everyone keeps it to themselves and doesn't say it aloud, it won't be a big deal if a few more people know.

"This won't affect you in any way in the future, will it?"

"Hey, I didn't kill anyone. I just helped dispose of the body. How could that be a problem? Don't worry, Master." Cao Weida waved his hand dismissively, his expression suddenly turning sarcastic. "Master, I heard from Third Sister-in-law that she introduced you to a woman. You seem quite satisfied with her?"

"So, when do you plan to marry him?"

"Of course, if you don't want to be my wife, you can bring her back as a concubine if you like. If you're willing, I'll talk to my third sister-in-law; she's an excellent talker in this area!"

The previous topic was about Sang Liuji, but the next second it suddenly jumped to getting married. Duomen didn't react for a moment, and when she came to her senses, her face turned red, which surprised Cao Weida.

"Oh, Master Duo, this is the first time I've ever seen you blush. And you know what? When you blush, you actually have a certain alluring charm!"

Upon hearing this, Duomen burst out laughing and scolding, "You brat, what nonsense are you spouting? You're making fun of your grandpa Duomen. If you don't know how to use words, don't use them carelessly, okay? How am I any kind of 'seductive'? I'm a genuine rough old man from Beiping, okay? I'm definitely not 'seductive' at all!"

"You should think about how to comfort Du Shiniang. You should know that Du Shiniang is Sang Liuji's wife's cousin."

"Now that her cousin's husband is dead, what will happen to her cousin and niece?"

Duomen shook his head and sighed, "Sang Liuji is really a scoundrel. Logically speaking, he has indeed made some money through extortion over the years, but he has given it all to the gambling den. This bastard doesn't care about the life or death of his wife and children at all."

"He's dead now, which is quite convenient, but how will this widow and her child survive?"

So that's what Master Duo meant by "involvement"?
Cao Weida asked in surprise, "Doesn't Sang Liuji own several courtyards? They could live very well just from the rent."

"What courtyard? Sang Liuji gambled it all away." Duomen sighed. "That's why I say Sang Liuji is a scoundrel. From what I understand, if his wife Zhong Chunhong hadn't refused to let him keep the last old house, Zhong Chunhong and her daughter might be homeless."

"This guy is such a scoundrel!" Cao Weida was stunned; he really didn't know any of this before.

"So, Zhong Chunhong is really unlucky to have married such a jerk." Duomen shook his head and sighed. He wasn't very familiar with Zhong Chunhong, at most they were nodding acquaintances, but he still had a good impression of her. She was a gentle and virtuous woman.

If she had married into an honest and upright family, her life might be much better now.

What a pity.

Cao Weida looked at him with a strange expression, making Duomen feel uncomfortable all over. "What are you looking at, kid? What kind of look is that?"

"Master Duo, you wouldn't have taken a fancy to Zhong Chunhong, would you?"

"What are you saying, you brat?" Duomen said with a black line on his forehead. "What are you thinking about all day long? Sang Liuji may not be a good-for-nothing, but he has been our colleague for many years."

He's barely dead, his body's still warm, and you think I'd make a move on his wife? Do you think I'm that kind of person?

“That’s true, it’s a bit early to make such a decision now.” Cao Wei Da nodded seriously, but then added, “It should be after the seventh day after his death, at least.”

Several black lines appeared on Duomen's forehead. This brat really dares to say anything!

Seeing the teasing look on Cao Wei Da's face, Duo Men nodded at him, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

The two arrived at the crime scene.

By this time, a large crowd of onlookers had gathered around the crime scene. They craned their necks to peer inside and whispered among themselves.

Xiao Wang and Xiao Pan were trying their best to maintain order at the scene, but their efforts were clearly in vain.

Seeing such chaotic order, Cao Weida couldn't help but frown.

These onlookers were mostly there to watch the show, and it's hard to believe they had any bad intentions. But they didn't realize that their actions could potentially damage the crime scene or even destroy crucial evidence, making the investigation much more difficult.

Fortunately, although people are quite curious these days, most are obedient and compliant.

But some troublemakers aren't so easy to talk to.

Huh?
Wait a minute, wasn't it said that there were only two people, Xiao Wang and Xiao Pan? How come there are three people?

Upon closer inspection, oh my, it's Zong Xiangfang! "Little Ears, hurry up and help maintain order, put up the cordon, and make these troublemakers back off!"

Xiao Erduo immediately led his men to help. Cao Weida walked up to Zong Xiangfang and asked curiously, "Xiangfang, what are you doing here?"

He knew Zong Xiangfang's identity; he was a Kuomintang secret agent!

Now that he had suddenly appeared at the crime scene, he couldn't help but wonder if this matter was related to the Military Intelligence Bureau.

If that's the case, then it will be difficult to handle.
"Master Cao, you've come too." Upon seeing Cao Weida, Zong Xiangfang quickly responded with a smile and explained, "I was patrolling the streets when I saw this place in such a commotion. They're all colleagues, so I couldn't just stand by and do nothing, and that's why I came to help."

"Oh, I see. You've really had a hard time." Cao Weida didn't completely disbelieve, but he didn't entirely believe it either.

At the scene, the naked body of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy was visible, his blood already dark brown, indicating that he had been dead for some time.

The body was kneeling with its head buried between its shoulders, its forehead and hands supporting it on the ground, in a prostrate position.

The deceased had a blunt force trauma to the back of the head, which, according to preliminary examination, was the wound that caused the death.

"Sigh, another one has died. I heard this is the second similar case."

"That's not right. Let me tell you, this is actually the fifth case."

"Oh? Is that so? Tell me more about it?"

“Let me tell you, my second uncle’s daughter married into Yujin Hutong. I went to visit her the other day and heard that three people were killed there.”

"Oh dear, the murderer is a serial killer!"

"You bet these patrol officers are right."

Listening to the whispers of the surrounding crowd, the patrol officers' faces grew increasingly grim. This was blatant accusation against them, and they were naturally uncomfortable.

But they didn't know how to refute it, because it was indeed the truth. These days, as long as it wasn't associated with anti-Japanese elements, it wasn't a big deal.

The police station was nominally in the hands of the Chinese, but in reality, the Japanese held the reins. Would the Japanese care if a few Chinese died?
Cao Weida, who was surveying the crime scene, twitched his ears and keenly heard a key piece of information in the murmurs of the crowd.

He strolled over to a member of the crowd, a woman in her thirties, dressed in patched clothes, with messy hair and calluses on her hands from doing housework.

"Excuse me, ma'am."

Upon seeing the patrol officers approaching her, the woman shrank back, fear flickering in her eyes. "Boss, what is it?"

She didn't care about being talked about behind her back, but she wouldn't dare to offend the patrolman to his face; she was just an honest, simple citizen.

"Don't be nervous, sister. I just have a question for you." Cao Weida smiled as kindly as possible. Although he, the patrol captain, was among the people being talked about, he didn't think there was anything wrong with what they said.

If a patrol officer can't even handle cases, isn't it only natural that people will talk behind their backs?

If you don't live up to expectations, don't blame others for looking down on you.

"Sister, I have a question. You just mentioned that one of your relatives in Jinyu Hutong has also been involved in three similar cases, right?"

"Yes, that's right," the woman said, emboldened slightly upon hearing that they hadn't come because of gossip, and seeing Cao Weida's amiable attitude.
Furthermore, she also possessed the habit of women who love to chatter, so Cao Wei Da didn't even need to ask for more details; she started talking non-stop on her own:

"Boss, let me tell you, my cousin told me that those three people died a horrible death. They were killed just like this corpse, and their clothes were stripped off. It's such a disgrace even in death."

Cao Wei Da showed no impatience at all because of the woman's chatter, but listened patiently, always maintaining a warm smile, and occasionally asking a few questions.

From this information, Cao Weida learned that the three murdered victims had all received the same treatment as this corpse, and that they were all different in age, gender, and occupation.

At the same time, the time of death was completely unpredictable, resembling a random killing.

If it was indeed a random killing, then the case would be the most difficult to solve.

After all, in the Republican era, without cameras, finding a mobile murderer who committed crimes and killed people randomly in Beiping, a city of more than one million people, was no different from finding a needle in a haystack.

However, Cao Weida knew that the murderer could not have killed randomly, but rather with a specific target.

Cao Wei Da believed that not only he had noticed it, but also that Master Duo had definitely discovered it.

However, even if you figure it out, finding the culprit is still extremely difficult.

This brings us to the difference between a novice detective and someone with exceptional detective skills.

(End of this chapter)