Master Yang asked all four of them, and they all said that Wang Wei was not far from them at that time.
Because of the boatman's urging, they even ate in a hurry. After eating, they didn't have time to rest before they started paddling.
"Then did he leave during the trip?" Su Yizhao couldn't help but asked when he saw that Mr. Yang wanted to bring the remaining boatmen for questioning.
The four of them all shook their heads, but after a few breaths, one of them thought of something.
"Wang Wei seemed to have left for a while, but he came back soon."
"Do you know what he went to do? How long has he been there?" Master Yang asked immediately.
"I don't know! Just a moment, about half a stick of incense?" The boatman replied after thinking carefully.
The rowing cabin is on the lowest level. How long does it take to walk from the lowest level to the upper cabin? Su Yizhao recalled the structure of the boat carefully.
On the first day on board, she felt very fresh and wandered around on the ship. Now she only has a rough structure diagram in her mind.
She knew there were two ways from the bottom level to the cabin above, but she didn't know how far they were.
There are rules on the ship: Passengers are not allowed to go to the cabin below, and boatmen in the bottom cabin are not allowed to go to the upper deck without permission.
"Wang Wei, where did you go for half a stick of incense?" Master Yang shouted.
"Sir, the poor people have to go to the toilet! We have just finished eating, and if we don't change people for less than an hour, we have to go to the toilet first."
Wang Wei's explanation was as expected by Su Yizhao. She glanced at Shopkeeper Zhou and then at Master Yang.
Master Yang saw that Su Yizhao had something to say, so he quickly softened his expression and asked: "Young Master, do you have any questions? But there is no harm in saying it!"
"Thank you, sir!"
After Su Yizhao thanked him, he asked: "Shopkeeper Zhou! How long does it take to go from the bottom to the upper cabin at the fastest speed of an adult man?"
Shopkeeper Zhou thought for a moment after hearing this, "It takes about half a stick of incense, but there is a door in the middle. There are people guarding it on weekdays. The boatman is not allowed to come up unless there is an unexpected situation."
"But we want to call the guarding boatman for questioning?" Shopkeeper Zhou was very discerning and asked immediately.
Mr. Yang was the first to answer: "Go and bring the person here!"
"If the boatman confirms that no one came up from the bottom, then Wang Wei and the boatman can be ruled out as suspects. Besides, half a stick of incense won't do much."
Mr. Yang frowned and analyzed, feeling that this case was really difficult.
He has little experience in solving crimes. He is usually only in charge of grain transportation, farmland, water conservancy and litigation. Although he is also involved in murder cases, his case solving is unprecedented.
"Sir, let's start with the people Yao is familiar with and then expand outward. It's easier this way!" Su Yizhao saw no progress for a long time and felt a little anxious.
"That's fine! If you have any great opinions, you might as well tell them. If it's feasible, that would be great!"
Mr. Yang was surprised by Su Yizhao's intelligence. He happened to have no clue yet, so he might as well listen to this kid.
"I can't call it a wise opinion, but I have some doubts."
"Your Excellency has just been investigating Wang Wei's suspicions. The next step is Mr. Du and nanny Wang. Why don't you ask shopkeeper Zhou to lead someone to verify whether what Mr. Du and Mrs. Wang just said is true. Mr. Du said that he went to the deck.
And Ms. Wang also said she was resting in her room, is there anyone who can confirm that?"
Su Yizhao saw Mr. Yang nodding, so he added: "Sir, please send someone to find a cabin for these passengers, ask them individually, and make records."
"Yes! But now that we are short of manpower, can we borrow the guards brought by Mr. Su?" Mr. Yang asked shamelessly, thinking that he only brought two followers.
"If you want to employ people, just give them your orders, how can the students refuse?" Su Wenqing was very polite at the moment and agreed happily.
As Su Yizhao expected, no one came out of the hold, so Mr. Yang asked the boatman to go back.
Next, Su Yizhao focused on the boat passengers, and this inquiry actually revealed some clues.
"When it comes to this couple, I don't think they have a good relationship!" A woman in her thirties held the handkerchief and thought for a moment before replying.
"Oh? How can you see it? But what do you know?" Su Yizhao was pacing here and asked quickly when he heard this.
I remember this woman, Su Yizhao, who lived in the house next door to Mr. Du and his wife.
"It had only been four days since we boarded the ship, and I heard the couple quarreling twice. The Yao family was even more sobbing, scolding and crying."
When the woman heard Su Yizhao's inquiry, she immediately became excited.
Regardless of the fact that Su Yizhao was still a child, he was talking with great joy.
The house where Mr. Du lives is only an upper room, not a private room, so the sound insulation is naturally poor.
"Do you know what they are arguing about?" Su Yizhao asked calmly, sitting next to the woman.
"I didn't listen carefully at first, but then wasn't it boring on the ship? I just leaned against the cabin board and listened to what they were arguing about."
The woman paused, twisted her body, and wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, as if she couldn't bear the heat in the cabin.
Upon seeing this, Su Yizhao immediately presented the curling stone that Uncle Zhong had just brought. The woman looked exactly the same and immediately smiled.
I didn't expect this woman to have the habit of listening to the wall. It seemed that she was extremely bored.
Su Yizhao's knowledge made the woman even more enthusiastic, so she stopped talking and started talking.
"I didn't hear it clearly either. I could only vaguely hear her crying that Mr. Du had lost money in business and had to go back to his ancestral home to make a living. She also said that after staying in the capital for more than ten years, she didn't expect to come back in such a dejected state.
"
Mr. Du mentioned this before, Su Yizhao nodded and motioned for the other party to continue.
"Listening to her mentioning her parents' family, it seems that her parents were originally wealthy, and her parents gave her a lot of money to help them establish a foothold in the capital. Now that the business has failed, they have no face to face their parents when they go back."
The woman thought for a moment and said, "The second noise was last night. I was woken up by them and couldn't sleep, so I leaned over to listen."
As she spoke, she came closer to Su Yizhao, "Ms. Yao said that Mr. Du lied to him and said that all the shops and houses in the capital were sold out, yet he still hid it from her."
"I probably didn't expect it to get to this point. Alas! This business is precarious! If you don't handle it properly, you will lose everything!"
The woman sighed with emotion, thinking that she only had a small shop, but fortunately she had good farmland.
"Have you heard how it was discovered?" Su Yizhao felt that this was a key clue, so he asked eagerly.
The woman thought for a long time and finally remembered something.
"She must have seen the mortgage deed? At that time, I could only hear her questioning Mr. Du, mentioning this in her words, and the sound of banging the table."
Su Yizhao wanted to check Mr. Du's trunk, but it would be inappropriate for her to bring it up.
Only when Mr. Du's suspicion becomes greater will he have the opportunity to check.