Wang Yun lived in the official government office not far away.
After Fengxiang's case was rushed to the Ministry of Justice, Wang Yun guessed that the emperor would summon him to Beijing.
Doing the math, the documents should be delivered to him soon.
Su Huai was acquitted and would naturally return to Fengxiang Official to resume his duties. He didn't know where he would be sent again. No matter where he went, it would be a new beginning.
Wang Yun put down the case file in his hand.
"Sir," the steward took off Wang Yun's boots, "others will take the opportunity to go sightseeing when they are transferred, but you always rush to the government office non-stop. Now, madam, the lady hasn't arrived in Fengxiang yet.
So we have to go back the same way."
Wang Yun smiled slightly and allowed the steward to keep nagging.
"Sir... something happened." The guard came forward and knocked on the door.
The steward was startled and accidentally pinched the old injury on Wang Yun's foot.
Wang Yun frowned in pain, and the steward quickly apologized: "Sir, I'm sorry, it was all my fault."
Wang Yun's instep was covered with uneven scars, and all ten of his toes were twisted in weird ways. At first glance, it looked really scary. These were all the tortures he suffered when he was imprisoned in Duogansi. Although the wounds have healed now, they can't be touched.
Sometimes I still feel pain, especially after running around every day, it's like stepping on a knife's edge.
"It's okay, don't take it to heart." Wang Yun comforted the steward very tolerantly.
The guard came in and reported: "Someone has entered the inn to assassinate Mr. Song."
Wang Yun was startled: "Have you caught the assassin?" He took the socks and put them on, and the steward hurriedly helped him put on his boots.
The guard said: "I've caught him and I've confirmed my identity. He's a beggar in the city. He helps in the market on weekdays and goes up the mountain to cut firewood to sell. He stays in a Taoist temple outside the city at night."
Wang Yun couldn't help frowning: "Why did a beggar want to assassinate Song Chengxuan?"
The guard didn't know much about the inside story: "The beggar only said that his brother was killed by Song Chengxuan, and now his brother's body is in the forest not far from the inn."
"Bring Wu Zuo with you, let's check the body first."
…
Under the light of torches.
A corpse was kneeling next to the rock, its head hanging softly on its chest, and its movements looked very strange.
The young man couldn't suppress his sadness, and tears kept falling. The violent twitching caused the wound on his neck to open again, and the blood soaked the cloth outside.
Wu Zuo has carefully examined the body: "The cause of death was that the head was cut off with a sharp knife."
Everyone looked at the several guards of the Song family. Without exception, they all wore sabers.
The young man nodded: "I sewed my brother's head on. I can't let him go like this."
Sun Chong asked: "Where was the body first found?"
The young man tried hard to support his weak body: "I...I will take you there."
The forest seemed very quiet, and the mountain wind was chilling to the bone. I didn't know what was hiding in the darkness.
Xu Qing'an walked to his sister and whispered: "There are not many people in the Yamen. Let's go slower so that we can deal with it easily if something happens."
Song Chengxuan's guards all carry murderous intent, which makes people feel uneasy.
"Your Excellency Wang Yun is the prefect, and my brother is the heir apparent of the Anyi House. Next to him is Mr. Zhao Er from the Guangping House. Unless Song Chengxuan wants to rebel, he will not kill us all here."
Although his sister's words made sense, Xu Qingan still felt uneasy.
"It's always good for you to walk behind me." Xu Qing'an didn't understand when the girl who was usually shut up in the inner house had the courage to not only look at the corpse, but also be so indifferent.
Xu Qinghuan thought for a moment and then looked around: "I forgot one thing. We are indeed in danger of our lives. If that person is more ruthless, he might kill us all."
Xu Qingan almost pulled out the sword from his waist, but Xu Qinghuan held his arm down.
"Such a thing won't happen today, brother, don't worry."
Xu Qingan's eyes widened, it wouldn't happen today, his sister's words really tested his strong heart.
There was a layer of leaves on the ground in the woods, and it was night again. After all, the light from the torches was not as bright as the sunlight, so it was impossible to find complete footprints. This shows that these people acted very cautiously.
But killing someone will still leave some clues.
Especially the person who is being hunted is scared and panicked. Although he knows that the chance of escaping is slim, he still doesn't want to give up. He thinks that he is no longer afraid of death, but when death comes, he feels so regretful.
.
In a drawn-out hunt, the prey always falls first.
Finally he couldn't run anymore, and the people behind him caught up with him without haste.
He wanted to ask for mercy but it was meaningless. All he saw were pairs of cold eyes. He was so familiar with this kind of eyes, so he almost obeyed their wishes and knelt on the ground without any struggle, and then was pressed down.
head.
When the knife came down, hot blood spurted out, and a head fell to the ground.
Beheaded in public display.
Finally they buried him in a shallow grave.
After these people left, his brother who was concerned about him searched here. He found a dagger that his brother often used. It was very small and hidden in a stone crevice not far away. This was a clue he left to his brother.
"After a person dies, it takes half an hour for the body to slowly stiffen," Mrs. Chang said, "which means that in order to put him in a kneeling position, the murderer must stay here for about an hour."
Sun Chong frowned: "After killing someone, the murderer will bury the body as soon as possible and escape. Why should he risk his life and stay here?"
Everyone fell into silence.
"Because we want to serve as a warning to others." Xu Qinghuan's voice broke the silence.
Serve as a warning to others.
Wang Yun seemed to understand a little bit.
Without waiting for others to speak, Xu Qinghuan looked at Song Chengxuan: "Master Song has been in the military for many years, so he should know why military law is stricter than the law, right?"
Song Chengxuan turned his head and looked into the girl's clear eyes. At this moment, it seemed as if she didn't know him. With an aggressive tone, she wanted to ask the secret hidden in his heart.
At this moment she completely regarded him as a suspect.
It seems that I have forgotten those words I said that day in the woods: "Why don't we investigate this case together."
Song Chengxuan narrowed his eyes slightly: "If military law is lax, it will be difficult to establish authority, let alone control and command the army."
Xu Qinghuan said: "So the strict military law is to deter others so that they will not make the same mistake again. The same is true for this corpse. Kneel down and behead him in public. Not only do you want to kill him, but you also want to warn him.
other people."
Sun Chong seemed to have thought of something: "What the eldest lady means is that the person who killed him was his companion."
Xu Qinghuan nodded: "Your Excellency, you can compare this person with the spies we caught before and see if they have anything in common."
"What kind of spy?" When the young man heard this, his voice became sharp, "My brother is not a spy, he is not... He just wanted us to live a better life and sold himself."
A pair of hands pressed on the young man's shoulders.
Li Xu said: "If you want to catch the murderer of your brother, you have to tell Mr. Wang Yun and Miss Xu what you know. They helped solve an unsolved case and redressed the grievances of the deceased. Don't you think so?"
Don’t you want to catch your brother’s murderer?”
"I think," the young man looked at Song Chengxuan angrily, "my brother has already told me who the murderer is. It is him, Mr. Song. My brother was deceived by them back then. When he left, he said that as long as he followed them, he would fight for a good life.
future."
"I have always been surprised, how could Xu San and Mrs. Guangping Hou raise such dead soldiers and spies, and they are only about twenty years old, where did these people come from," Xu Qinghuan looked at
Xiang Song Chengxuan, "When I was in Fengxiang, I met a boy named Junsheng. On the day Xu San was arrested, Junsheng left Fengxiang with a few beggars and said he was going to beg for a living. What the boy said
It coincides with each other.”
Her gaze collided with his, and she was radiant under the light of the torch: "Master Wang, I think as long as you order someone to look for Junsheng, and just ask a little bit, you can know where they are going and who they want to go to. If it is what this young man said,
If there is no difference, then we should have caught the murderer's tail."