After the old gardener discovered that the castle had disappeared, he found the servant who was still in the manor to take care of it and told him about it.
The servant of the manor told the old gardener that the male master left Shrewsbury and went to London, and not long after that he went to Japan, where he seemed to have established a new family.
So, the matter was settled...
Bai Ma Tan closed his eyes and pondered in his mind.
So far, there have been two testimonies spanning time, proving that there was once a castle that looked like Dusk House, built on the banks of the River Severn in Shrewsbury.
The construction time was about 110 years ago, but the specific time is unknown.
But if the Dusk Annex in Gunma Prefecture is the castle built on the banks of the Severn River in England 110 years ago, and then disappeared inexplicably, then there are too many secrets in it.
First, a building crossed the barriers between oceans and land and arrived in Japan.
This is absolutely impossible no matter 110 years ago or today with advanced science and technology.
However, after seeing with his own eyes that the dusk annex suddenly disappeared that night, Detective Bai Ma felt that this was possible.
Although I don’t know what unimaginable methods or means were used, it is at least certain that this assumption exists.
Assuming that Dusk Villa was the castle on the banks of the Severn River 110 years ago, then the initiator of this incident should be the male owner of the manor.
The male owner was prominent locally and later founded a family in Japan.
110 years ago, not long after Japan was founded and the Meiji Restoration was in full swing, the whole country was learning from the West.
In that context, it was entirely possible for foreigners to settle in Japan, especially the British Empire, which was at its peak at that time.
If the family was established during the Restoration period, and the male owner had a prominent status in the UK, and the building materials of the Dusk Villa were made of gold, he would definitely not be an unknown person.
He might even have crossed paths with the then-reigning Emperor Meiji!
Therefore, the White Horse Detective has asked the White Horse Research Institute in Japan to investigate historical data in this area.
However, before getting the investigation results, Detective Baima already had some guesses in his mind.
If the Dusk Annex in Gunma Prefecture really belongs to the rich man Karasuma Renya, as the legend says, then the family founded by this male owner is very likely to be the Karasuma family.
It's just that when Detective White Horse first investigated the origin of the Dusk Annex, he had already used all his resources to investigate the surname Karasuma.
However, he did not find any useful information.
The Karasuma family is very secretive. Except for the rich man Karasuma Renya, no other family members have any information.
Moreover, the property owned by Karasuma Renya is also absolutely confidential. Even Detective Hakuba, who is the son of the police chief and comes from the equally prominent Hakuba family, has no ability to touch it.
In Japan today, there are several prominent families that are well-known to the world.
The Suzuki family is the largest conglomerate in Japan today. It has so much wealth that it is as rich as the country. It is currently the most well-known Japanese family in the world.
The Ooka family is mainly active in politics and business. Its financial power is second only to the Suzuki Consortium. There has been a Japanese Prime Minister in the family, so its political influence is higher than that of the Suzuki Consortium.
Although the Hakuba family's financial resources are not as good as those of the Suzuki and Ooka families, and their political circles have not reached the level of the Prime Minister of Japan, they have always maintained strong strength in the police community, have many fans, and have a high say in the field of scientific research.
In addition to these three major families, there are many very low-key families in Japan, such as the Haneda family, the Shiratori family, the Hattori family, etc.
But this is the first time that Detective Hakuba knows that a family of the size of Karasuma is so powerful yet so low-key.
However, just because clues cannot be found in Japan does not mean that they cannot be found in the UK.
Since the current Karasuma family cannot be found, then let’s check the three generations of our ancestors!
…
Detective Whitehorse drove the car along the Severn River for three miles and finally found the manor mentioned in the clues on the outskirts of Shrewsbury.
Now the manor has been abandoned, and its former beauty is no longer there.
Through the dark trees, a gloomy manor stands in front of you.
The outer perimeter of the manor is made up of ancient red brick pillars and iron pointed railings as markers of the territory, wrapping the entire manor.
Thick shrubs, rotten trees and dead branches covered the fence, blocking the gaps tightly, making it impossible to see clearly what was going on inside.
The car slowly stopped at the entrance of the manor, and Baima Tan and Ah Fu got out of the car.
"Master, I'm going to find a way in. Please wait here for a moment." Ah Fu said respectfully.
After Ah Fu walked towards the right wall of the manor, Bai Ma Tan first took a general look at the surrounding situation.
Then he came to the main entrance of the manor.
The large iron gate at the front of the manor is locked. Judging from the rusty state of the lock, it has not been opened for at least several decades.
The iron railings of the large iron gate are covered with plants, blocking most of the views that want to peek inside.
There is only a gap of about 20cm in the middle of the road, and plants cannot grow here, leaving a part of the area where you can observe the inside.
Detective Bai Ma leaned his head over and saw a two-story building standing in the pale moonlight.
Like most manor buildings of the last century, the exterior of that building is made of red brick.
Due to no maintenance for decades, most of the wall coverings on the front of the building have fallen off, exposing grids of bricks, which looks a bit exposed.
But other than that, the building's condition is relatively intact, the glass is also intact, and there are no traces of man-made damage.
Withdrawing his gaze, Bai Ma Tan looked at the red brick pillar next to the big iron gate.
On the pillar, at about the height of a person, there is an area with a different color than other areas, which should be used to hang the house plate, which will announce the information of the manor and its owner to the outside world.
But now the sign on it is gone, and the entire pillar is bare.
At this moment, Ah Fu came back and brought a way into the manor.
Ten meters away to the right of the manor's main entrance, a collapsed wall formed a gap.
Entering through the gap, there is a path inside the manor, which leads to the double-story building.
The two came to the main entrance of the building, thinking of finding a way around to enter, but found that the main entrance was not locked.
A rough wooden stick lay across the door handles on both sides, and that was it.
In fact, it is also wise to do this, because once it is locked, outsiders may guess what valuables are hidden in the building.
As long as you find a way to invade an uninhabited manor like this, it is impossible to stop it.
Faced with this kind of door bolt that prevents gentlemen from letting villains go, Baima Tan and Ah Fu looked at each other, and Ah Fu stepped forward and took down the wooden stick.
The white horse detective pressed his hand on the door handle, and with a little force, the door was slowly pushed open.
A faint musty smell in the air instantly invaded the nasal cavity, mixed with a fishy smell from the soil.
Bai Ma Tan frowned slightly, took out a white handkerchief from his pocket and put it in front of his nose, and took the flashlight from Ah Fu with his other hand.
Click.
When the flashlight is turned on, two circular apertures instantly illuminate a corner of this dark building.
At this time, they were in the main hall facing the door.
The main hall is very simple. Everything that can be moved has been removed, leaving only a dust-stained carpet and a broken lampshade in the corner.
There is a walking route on the left and right sides of the main hall.
"Afu, you go to the left."
In order to save time, the white horse detective sent Ah Fu to the other side, while he started investigating from the right side.
Detective Bai Ma approached the side hall, which was obviously a reception room.
The sofa and round table in the living room are still in the distance, and almost everything that can be moved has been removed.
Detective Bai Ma looked around with a flashlight. Suddenly, a flag on the wall attracted his attention.
This flag is a shield. The middle of the shield is divided by a cross dividing line, and the four areas are respectively two patterns.
From the upper left to the lower right of the shield, there is also a diagonal strip like a black ribbon, decorated with shell patterns.
The white horse detective stared at the pattern on the flag and couldn't help but frown slightly.
this is……
Detective Baima has studied and lived in the UK for many years, solved numerous cases, and established a good network of contacts.
In addition to his background in the White Horse family, he was once invited to Althorp Manor as a guest.
Althorp Manor is located in Northamptonshire, north of London. It is one of the oldest aristocrats in Britain and the place where the Spencer family has lived for generations.
From 1508, the Spencer family first came to live on the land of Althorp as a large-scale sheep herding family.
Detective White Horse still remembered that he had seen such a pattern when he was a guest at Althorp Manor.
This flag is not an ordinary pattern, but the emblem and symbol of the Spencer family.
The Spencer family symbol actually appears here...
Could it be that the male owner of the manor back then was related to the Spencer family?
But since he is a member of the Spencer family, why not live in Althorp Manor? Instead, he is so far away in the north of England.
Detective Baima put his thoughts aside and continued to investigate further inside.
Go out from the exit on the other side of the side hall and you will reach the area where the servants are at the back.
The kitchen, utility room, bathroom, and stairs to the second floor are all here.
Detective Bai Ma just glanced at these insignificant areas and then came to the second floor from the spiral staircase.
The entire second floor is the owner's leisure and rest area, including a living room, study room, piano room, etc.
However, the situation is similar to the situation on the first floor. All the valuable things in these rooms have been removed, leaving only some old furniture.
Although these pieces of furniture were exquisite items for nobles back then, after so many years, the old paintwork has become covered with dust, and now they are just a pile of old furniture that is so dirty that people don’t want to reach out and touch it.
But in the study, Bai Ma found a mezzanine in the second drawer of the desk.
The mezzanine is separated by wooden boards. If it weren't for Detective Bai Ma's keen observation as a detective, it would be really difficult to find it.
He dug out the board and found two pieces of paper underneath.
When I took out the piece of paper and shined the flashlight on it, I discovered it was a letter and a photo.
The photo is a yellowed black and white photo, and the edges of the photo have become slightly warped due to moisture.
However, the middle part of the photo is well protected due to a layer of wax.
This is a photo of a young man and a woman.
Among them, the young people were dressed very luxuriously, which was the exquisite dress only worn by the nobles at that time.
The mother's clothes were relatively ordinary. A white fluffy lace dress was not in harmony with her thin body and did not look tailor-made.
On the back of the photo, there is a line of neat handwriting that reads: Son Spencer Renye and mother Sera, pictured on July 4, 1870.
Lianye...
This name reminds Hakuba Tan of the rich man Karasuma Renya.
Could this person be Renya Karasuma in his youth?
Detective Baima recalled the tragedy 40 years ago that the old lady Qianjian told about in the dusk villa.
In her version of the story, Renya Karasuma became a centenarian 40 years ago.
If this is the case, Renya Karasuma was indeed a young man in 1870.
But later, the White Horse Detective used the police database and never found any information about the tragedy 40 years ago.
The existence of this photo now seems to really prove that Renya Karasuma is indeed an old man who is older than ordinary people.
Detective Bai Ma turned the photo back to the front and stared at the face in the photo carefully.
The women among them are relatively delicate in appearance, and contain a kind of oriental beauty that Westerners do not possess.
The son next to him also looks very handsome, with some mixed-race features, a handsome face like a knife, and a tall and thin figure.
Although the resolution of the photo at that time was not high, he always felt that there was a heroic spirit between the eyebrows of this "Lian Ye", which was very similar to a certain person.
Who is coming?
Detective Bai Ma couldn't think of it for the moment, so he put the photo in his pocket and picked up the letter to read.
Due to the age, moisture and other reasons, most of the handwriting on the letter has become blurred and cannot be read.
However, there are still a few edges on the letter paper, allowing Detective White Horse to see clearly.
The first letter begins with the title: Dear Mr. Chagay.
(blurred) Settling down in Japan (blurred)...
(a big blur)
(blurred) Move the temple to Japan (blurred)...
…
Detective Baima read hard for a long time and could only see these contents clearly.
Temple...
Are you talking about Dusk Villa?
There is also this letter, which seems to be written to the servant who stayed at the manor to take care of it.
However, judging from the respectful title of "Dear Mr. Haguet", this person's relationship with "Spencer Lianye" is more than just a master-servant relationship.
Just as Baima was exploring the contents of the letter and photos, a muffled sound suddenly came from downstairs.
Detective Bai Ma raised his head alertly, walked to the stairs, and gave a tentative shout.
"Afu?"
No one answered at the bottom of the empty stairs.
Realizing that something might have happened, Baima Tan hurried a few steps downstairs. Passing by an empty room, he saw Ah Fu lying on the floor.
"Afu!"
Detective Bai Ma quickly ran over, put the flashlight aside, and picked the person up.
But when Ah Fu's body was turned over, Bai Ma Tan felt that his hands were stained with some kind of sticky liquid.