The drizzle of light rain and the gloomy sky make people feel extremely depressed. It has not rained all summer, but once it gets up, it is endless. In the continuous autumn rain, the bones seem to be rusted, which makes people feel
My limbs are stiff and very uncomfortable.
Cao Peng's face was very ugly, just like the gloomy weather, standing there, exuding a coldness.
All the people around him seemed trembling.
Even Chen Qun didn't come up to talk to him, he just watched from a distance under the porch.
Yue Guan was in the Zen room, his eyes swollen from crying.
In this lonely nunnery, Xuelian is her only companion.
Now that her partner is gone, Yue Guan is very sad. When she saw Xuelian's body, she fell to the ground and fell unconscious.
Cao Peng knelt down, stretched out his hand and closed Xuelian's empty eyes.
He squinted his eyes and looked carefully, then stood up and slowly stepped onto the porch.
"How?" Chen Qun asked.
"There are scars on her body and tatters on her clothes, but the fatal injury was on the back of the head, caused by a blunt object. The scars on her body should have been scratched by the well wall when she fell into the well... I am not sure about the time of death now.
But it can be roughly inferred that it is actually between Xu Shi and Chou Shi."
Cao Peng's eyes were filled with fire and he was gnashing his teeth.
Xuelian seemed to be killed under his nose.
He knew that the murderer was probably at the banquet, but he took no precautions.
dereliction of duty!
This is a typical dereliction of duty!
Cao Peng felt that he was really careless.
Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. He hadn't slept all night, his temples were pounding, and his head seemed extremely confused...
Why was Xuelian killed?
Is it accidental or intentional?
When Xuelian spoke to herself yesterday, her voice was very soft. In addition, the singing and dancing were in full swing at that time, and even Chen Qun, who was closest to him, did not hear it. In other words, no one knew what Xuelian said to herself. And everyone
At that time, everyone's attention was on Yue Guan's dance. Who would notice Xue Lian talking to him at that time? Cao Peng frowned and slowly walked down the porch.
"Afu, where are you going?"
"Go and have a look at the waterside pavilion."
There was a vague feeling that Xuelian's death was related to her conversation with him last night.
Chen Qun ordered people to seal off the entire Juhua Temple and followed Cao Peng towards the waterside pavilion. The two of them arrived at the waterside pavilion one after another. Cao Peng stopped and looked around at the mess in the waterside pavilion. The singing and dancing last night seemed to still be in his ears.
The echo, the noise, is still ringing in my ears...
Cao Peng suddenly asked: "Brother, do you remember where everyone was last night?"
Chen Qun recalled it carefully and walked to the seat in the middle, "I was sitting here yesterday, and you were on my left. On the right I remember Yuan Xuanshuo, and below Xuanshuo was Zhang Yuanan. Jingzhao Chi Boyu, sitting next to Zhang Yuanan
Opposite him is the Lao Shizi congratulatory person. The first person congratulating him seems to be Zhang Tai... The next person congratulating him is... Let me think about it, Chen Bodao of Runan. The person sitting opposite Chen Bodao is Su Wei.
Yue Guan is your first place. At that time, I even joked that this Yue Guan master seemed to be interested in you... It was roughly in this order."
Chen Qun has a very good memory and can quickly sort out where everyone sat last night.
"But later, it got a little messy." He added.
"What's everyone's position during singing and dancing?"
"During singing and dancing?" Chen Qun closed his eyes and thought about it.
"Zhang Ziyu played the piano at the entrance of the waterside pavilion; Chi Zhong and Su Wei changed seats... Master Yue'an was singing and dancing at the time, and the others... Zhang Yuanan was talking to Zhu Dao at the time, and Chen Bodao was a little drunk, so he lay on the table. Yuan Xuanshuo
Then enjoy the singing and dancing.”
"Why did Chi Zhong change places with Su Wei?"
"Well..." A strange look flashed across Chen Qun's face, "I think that Chi Boyu seems to like Master Yue'an quite a bit. Su Wei can see more clearly from where he is, so... you know, Yue'an
The nunnery master's singing and dancing are quite charming."
"Uh...I understand!"
In other words, no one noticed me at the time.
At least that's what Cao Peng thought based on Chen Qun's words.
"Afu, what should we do next?"
Cao Peng thought for a while, "Since a murder occurred and it was discovered in this Juhua Nunnery, I'm afraid that the master of Yue Nunnery will be wronged."
"Well, she was the last person to see Snow Lotus, so it was inevitable."
Cao Peng and Chen Qun walked out of the waterside pavilion and returned to the courtyard. Chen Qun went to explain the situation to Yue Guan and asked her to go to Luoyang County Yamen to inquire about the situation in detail. Cao Peng walked into Xuelian again.
In the room, I sat down on the bed and observed quietly.
Yue Guan said that Xuelian went back to her room to rest due to physical discomfort and never appeared again.
But her body was found in the well... In other words, she was most likely killed in this house and then thrown into the well. But there were no signs of a struggle in the house, except for the Buddhist niche.
Except for the incense burner, there seemed to be no items to prove that Xuelian had returned to the room. Cao Peng immediately came up with another hypothesis. Xuelian was not killed in the house, but was called to the well and hit in the head with a blunt object.
Later, Xuelian was driven by that inertia and fell into the well...
Wait, if so, where is the murder weapon?
Cao Peng immediately stood up and walked out of the room.
Yue Guan changed into simple clothes and was about to go to the county government office with Chen Qun.
Seeing Cao Peng coming out, she felt slightly blessed.
Cao Peng smiled at her and then waved for Chen Ju to come over.
"Did you find the murder weapon during the search just now?"
"Never found."
Cao Peng nodded and said to Chen Qun: "Brother, you go back first, I will ask Zifang to take a few people to stay."
"good!"
Chen Qun agreed to Cao Peng's request without saying anything.
Cao Peng ordered Chen Ju to lead people to continue searching for the murder weapon. But he stood on the porch and carefully observed this quiet little courtyard...
The courtyard area is not large, but it is very elegant.
This place is about 150 meters away from the water pavilion. There is a courtyard wall about two meters high, blocking the view from the water pavilion.
Even if someone kills people here, the people in the waterside pavilion will not find out.
Cao Peng came down from the porch and slowly walked to the well and stood there. The dark well was very deep...
"Chen Ju!"
"Here."
"Check where this well leads to."
Chen Ju was startled and quickly responded.
Cao Peng called two more slaves and asked, "Which of you has better water quality?"
"Go back to the north, sir. I grew up by the Yishui River, and my water skills are pretty good."
"Can you dive down?"
The two servants were stunned and smiled bitterly: "It's possible to dive down, but I don't know how deep the well is, so I may not be able to dive to the bottom."
Also, if the well is very deep, the Qi may not be able to.
Cao Peng thought for a while, and asked people to find cowhide and try to make an air bag. Using the air bag to store air, you can ventilate underwater. This was a very simple method in later generations. However, this air bag is not very easy.
It took a full hour to make three simple air bags. A slave tried it out, tied it to his waist with a rope, and then jumped into the well.
At this time, the sky was bright and the rain stopped.
The sunlight shines through the shade of the trees into the small courtyard, flickering brightly and dimly, giving the small courtyard an eerie air.
About half a cup of tea later, the rope suddenly shook. The guard at the well shouted loudly and quickly pulled up the rope. After a while, the slave who went into the water, with a pale face, emerged from the well water. With the help of the guard, he emerged from the well.
He crawled out of the well, sticking out his tongue and gasping for air.
"How's it going?"
"Going back to the north, Master, I found a copper kettle at the bottom of the well."
He held a deformed copper pot in his hand and placed it in front of Cao Peng.
Cao Peng recognized at a glance that this copper pot was exactly the prop used in the pot throwing last night. The copper pot used in the pot throwing was basically solid and had a heavy weight. There were obvious dents on the mouth of the pot, which were obviously made when hitting.
Damage was received. Cao Peng took the copper pot and observed it carefully.
There is a faint blood mark on the bottom of the pot. Although it has been soaked in well water, it has not been completely eliminated due to time.
There is no doubt that this copper pot is the murder weapon that killed Xuelian.
After Cao Peng ordered people to put the copper pot away, he ordered to prepare to leave...
Before leaving, Cao Peng walked into Xuelian's room again. For some reason, he always felt that there was something weird in this room.
"Cao Beibu, I've already asked clearly."
Chen Ju walked in at this time and replied respectfully: "I checked with the surrounding villagers and found that most of the wells nearby are connected to Yishui."
"Um."
Cao Peng nodded absently.
"Zifang."
"Here!"
"Do you believe in pagodas?"
"ah?"
"In other words, are you at home, worshiping the gods?"
Chen Ju hesitated for a moment and said softly: "My ancestor once believed in a section of Taiping Road, but later he no longer believed in it."
"Well, you don't have to be afraid, I'm not pursuing this matter.
I’m just asking you, if you offer sacrifices to ancestors or worship gods at home, will you place the spiritual tablets or shrines facing the front door?”
Chen Ju was stunned, thought for a moment, shook his head and said, "No way, wouldn't that mean he would be directly hit by the wind?"
His eyes followed Cao Peng's line of sight and fell on the Buddhist niche facing the door. Chen Ju frowned and suddenly seemed to understand Cao Peng's intention. He quickly walked over and reached out to take out the Buddha statue from the Buddhist niche. He saw
Under the Buddha statue, there was a wooden box that was almost the same color as the Buddhist niche. If you didn't look carefully, it would be hard to see the flaw. He carefully took out the wooden box, turned around and came to Cao Peng, and put the Buddha statue and the wooden box together.
He handed it to Cao Peng, with a look of great admiration on his face.
"Cao Beibu, there is indeed a mystery."
Cao Peng smiled and placed the Buddha statue next to him.
Then he opened the wooden box and his eyes suddenly focused. There was nothing in the box...
"Cao Bei, it's empty."
Cao Peng took a deep breath and said softly: "Maybe it's a step too late."
This Buddha statue is very small, so there must be something to cushion it underneath. Xuelian used this box instead, and deliberately placed the Buddhist niche facing the door, with the intention of reminding her. Maybe she had expected this day, so she deliberately
Let's arrange it this way.
Stepping to the Buddhist altar, Cao Peng observed it carefully.
After a while, he took a long breath and said to himself: "The Tao is one foot high, the devil is one foot high...Xuelian, Xuelian, although you have been on guard for a long time, you don't know that your opponent is also aware of it! Zifang, you
Looking at this Buddhist niche, it is clearly a new one! Xuelian has been practicing in Juhua Temple for many years. It stands to reason that the Buddhist niche should have been blackened by so much incense. But this Buddhist niche can still be seen in its true colors.
This Buddhist niche will not be used for more than three months...
Xuelian, you are a confused girl, but you are also smart enough to think of..."
Cao Peng suddenly closed his mouth, turned around suddenly, and stared blankly at the Buddha statue on the desk.
Chen Ju couldn't help but ask: "Cao Beibu, what's wrong with you?"
Cao Peng did not respond.
"Chen Ju, what is this thing?"
"Buddha."
"What?"
"Buddha!"
"No, you read them together and read them faster."
"Buddha, Pagoda, Pagoda..." Chen Ju didn't understand what Cao Peng meant, so he kept repeating the word "Buddha". At first, he could pronounce the words clearly, but gradually, his mouth became dry.
The speech became slurred and became more and more slurred.
Cao Peng suddenly took a breath of cold air...
His face also turned pale.
He muttered to himself: "Fourth brother, fourth brother, it turns out that you also saw the flaw, that's why you suffered this disaster...Brother, why don't you report it directly, but you want to find it secretly by yourself? Confused, confused...
Fourth brother, fourth brother, you are so confused!"
There was a hint of sadness in his eyes.
Cao Peng ducked out of Xuelian's room and rushed into Yue Guan's house.
Yue Guan's room also looks very simple, and is quite similar to the layout of Xue Lian's room. However, Xue Lian's room, as its owner's name suggests, is elegant and dignified; while Yue Guan's room is obviously more colorful than Xue Lian's room.
Just like the current owner...
"Cao Bei?"
"Oh, I'm fine... let's go."
Cao Peng smiled slightly, his face was still a little pale, but his demeanor became calm.
When he left Juhua Temple, he glanced at the three rooms in the front courtyard, and a look of ferocity flashed in his eyes.
When we left Juhua Temple, it was already noon.
Cao Peng and his party hurried back to Luoyang. When they were about to reach the gate of Luoyang City, they saw a horse galloping out of Luoyang City.
"Ziyou?"
Cao Peng reined in his horse and looked at Xia Houlan, who was speeding towards him, with some doubts.
Xia Houlan also saw Cao Peng, urged his horse to Cao Peng, then rolled his saddle and dismounted, kneeling on one knee.
"Sir, the black spirit has arrived."
When Cao Peng heard this, he was overjoyed.
"Ziyou, has Black Eye arrived? Where is it now?"
"Returning to the young master, I just received a message from Xingba. Hei Qian has passed Yishuikou and is on his way to Luoyang. Xingba also said that the old lady and Miss Huang are both here, so they were delayed for two days.
.It is estimated that they will arrive in Luoyang this afternoon."
"Aniang and Yueying are here too?"
Cao Peng was startled at first, but then he was relieved.
My father is in Xudu and is busy with official duties. Now he is serving as Captain Cao, supervising water conservancy and farming, so he is probably too busy all day long.
Previously, Cao Peng was studying in Luhunshan, and Zhang was not easy to disturb.
Now, Cao Peng has been appointed as the Northern Lieutenant of Luoyang, which is not far from Xudu. It is a normal thing for Zhang family to come to visit Cao Peng. However, what makes Cao Peng most happy is the arrival of Hei Ming.
The arrival of Hei Qian also solved the embarrassing situation of lack of manpower and no one available. Not to mention, Kan Ze, Gan Ning, and Hao Zhao accompanied him, which greatly increased Cao Peng's confidence.
As soon as his thoughts changed, Cao Peng's eyes suddenly became sharp.
"Ziyou, go back immediately and ask Miao Xu to come see me tonight."