When he returned to his own residence in the 13th Army, San'er had already fallen asleep.
After pulling up the quilt that he had pushed off, Xiao Chen added a few pieces of charcoal to the stove and sat down by the fire.
As soon as I arrived in the town to check the scene today, the murderer killed Zhang Shanren and silenced him. There were only two possibilities for such a quick action.
One is that when he arrived in the town, the murderer was among the crowd, paying attention to his every move. Another possibility is that there is an internal problem in the East Factory, and someone informed the other party in advance.
If there is a hidden thread inside Dongchang, who could this hidden thread be?
Before he started investigating, Duan Tianming, the commander of the Thirteenth Battle, did not know his specific actions. This hidden clue could not be someone from the Thirteenth Battle.
The only person in Dongchang who knew that he was going to the small town was Xiao Lizi.
Thinking of this, Xiao Chen shook his head.
It was Xiao Lizi who told him the news of Wang San's murder, and it was he who provided the specific time and place of Wang San's previous actions, as well as the contents of the secret letter in his arms that day.
What's more, the three of them came from the same place and had been brothers since childhood. In this crisis-ridden capital, the three of them got along harmoniously and helped each other. He had no reason to attack Wang San.
Then, the only reason is that when I arrived in the town and started checking the scene, the other party's people were hidden at the scene.
Seeing themselves clearing away the snow and checking the foundation of the wall, they must have realized that the murder had been committed and that Ni Duan had been discovered.
Judging from the scene at Zhang Shanren's house later, it seems that the murderer discovered his intention and reported the matter to his superiors. After receiving instructions, he hurriedly killed Zhang Shanren and his family.
He killed everyone in Zhang Shanren's family with his sword, but stuffed a ghost-headed knife into his hand, and also stuffed the finished poison bottle into his hand. This was because he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to tell that Zhang Shanren was
Killed his family and then committed suicide by taking poison?
Such a hasty layout is enough to show that the murderer is a man with excellent swordsmanship, but his IQ is not worthy of his swordsmanship.
Sitting on the chair, Xiao Chen crossed his hands and kneaded his calves. Looking at the slightly bluish-purple flames in the stove, he tried hard to organize his thoughts.
From the time he surveyed the scene to the time Zhang Shanren was killed, it only took a few hours.
Not only do you have to run back and forth, but you also have to report to your superiors, plus setting up the murder scene can be completed in a few hours. This means that the murderer's superiors are not far from the town.
This defines the scope for the next step of investigation.
"Brother, when did you come back? I've been waiting for you and accidentally fell asleep."
San'er rubbed his eyes, lifted the quilt off his body, and sat up.
"I just came back." Xiao Chen turned around and said with a smile: "Go to sleep quickly, don't worry about me. As time goes by, you will understand that in my eldest brother's profession, it is normal for him to stay up all night."
"But it's already dark and it's so cold outside. I'm still a little worried if you don't come back."
With that said, San'er simply got off the bed, took a tea bowl, picked up the kettle on the stove, poured a bowl of hot water, and handed it to Xiao Chen.
Touching the warm tea bowl in his hand, Xiao Chen felt a little moved.
In his memory, except Wang San and Xiao Lizi, no one cared about his life or death.
And after the two of them entered the palace, the one they depended on for life was the stray black dog Dahei that had been dead for many years.
Now, being worried and concerned about others, this kind of too gentle emotion, for Xiao Chen, who has been licking blood from his knife all the time, instantly broke his guard.
In fact, Xiao Chen is not a cold person. Although he always has an expressionless expression and it seems that everything has nothing to do with him, Wang San understands him.
Just like every time I took the opportunity to leave the palace and gave Xiao Chen food and money, I just threw them in front of him, turned around and left.
Wang San knows that to help someone, there is no need to wait to hear the word "thank you".
Some things, if not said out loud, must be kept in mind.
Especially for Xiao Chen's character, not being good at expressing does not mean that he doesn't know what he is thinking.
"That Zhang Shanren who bullied you, his whole family was killed." Xiao Chen paused slightly after taking a sip of hot water.
"Ah?" San'er showed an incredulous expression, "Although he bullied me, I haven't hated him to this extent. Besides, he has indeed done many good things for the town. Distributions are given twice a month.
Although I didn’t get the steamed buns, everyone else who got the steamed buns ate them very happily.”
Xiao Chen touched San'er's little head: "Then tell me, is he a bad person or a good person."
San'er scratched the back of his head, rolled his dark eyes, thought for a moment and said, "He should be considered a good person if he gives more people steamed buns to eat."
"Okay, okay." Xiao Chen smiled happily, "Don't hold grudges for small things, and can see the good in others. We three sons understand the righteousness deeply."
When Saner heard the compliment, he grinned sheepishly, revealing a row of white and neat teeth.
"San'er, as far as you know, does Zhang Shanren have any enemies in town?" Xiao Chen picked up the iron rod at hand and poked it into the stove.
The burnt charcoal ashes fell from the middle of the wide furnace teeth.
He picked up a few more pieces of charcoal and filled them in.
"I don't think I have any enemies. Everyone calls him Zhang Shanren because he has done many good deeds. However, although I don't know his enemies, the Wang family must be very jealous of him." San'er also pulled out a small card.
He took the bench and sat down by the fire.
"Wang family? Who are they? Why are they jealous of Zhang Shanren?" Xiao Chen chuckled.
"They are similar to Zhang Shan's family. They are all rich people in the town. Seeing Zhang Shan's handing out steamed buns twice a month, the Wang family also started giving out steamed buns. However, Zhang Shan's family gave out steamed buns to every poor person in line, while the Wang family
It will only be distributed to the first 100 people, and none will be given to the following people."
"This will easily lead to confusion. Everyone will conflict over the top 100 positions over the steamed buns. This approach of the Wang family is not advisable." Xiao Chen said with a smile.
"Well, that's it, so the Wang family has a problem with Zhang Shanren because he has too much hair."
"It's not good to have opinions on such trivial matters. If you have the ability to do more things than Zhang Shanren, you are called awesome." Xiao Chen had a smile on his face.
It's really interesting to chat with children about trivial matters.
"It's nothing. The main thing is that there is a high-ranking official. Every time he comes to the town, he will go to Zhang Shan's house instead of the Wang family. This is what the Wang family is most jealous of."
"High official? How did you know he was a high official?" Xiao Chen was shocked. Does this kind family have connections with people from the government?
"Of course he is a senior official. Every time he comes, he rides in a sedan. He is guarded by tall people and horses. He looks very grand."