Ministers made me a male queen

Jiao Yun poked his head forward, and saw several pieces of broken jade stones falling there, uneven, good in quality and texture, and somewhat familiar.

He thought about it seriously, it was the jade bracelet that was worn on the wrist of the second lady's body when it passed by his side and dropped a hand.

Qiaozhu also mentioned that it is a pair, saying that the second wife likes it very much, just got it, and the color matches the nail color, so I bought two bottles and wanted to dye it for a longer period of time.

"Brother Yun, what are you looking at?" Tao Wuzuo came over from time to time, stood behind him and poked his head over, seeing him staring at the jade fragments, "Look at this, it fell from Mrs. Gong's right wrist. It was broken when my wrist hit the pillar on this side during the fall and struggled."

Jiao Yun suddenly realized: "Well, then she must be in pain."

Tao Wuzuo is fine right now, squatting there too, "Hey, why?" The small courtyard has good sunlight, and it may have been a carefully selected location before it was abandoned. It is about the same size as the main courtyard. furnished.

Jiao Yun held his little head, stretched out his arms, and waved, "I used to help my mother move the pot and accidentally bumped into the pot, and the back of my hand hit a big red spot, which hurt, and then turned blue, and it took several days to disappear. "

To smash the jade bracelet worn on the wrist, the force must not be light, and the angle must be just enough to hit the side of the wrist. In addition to coincidence, strength is also required.

Gong's wrist is very thin, if she really strangled her neck and raised her hand to struggle to bump it, unless the arm slipped, otherwise, when she raised her arm, the jade bracelet would fall back away from her wrist, and it would not be easy to hit it.

But if the arm is down, judging from the distance of the binding, it is not enough to be smashed.

Tao Yuzuo was taken aback by Jiao Yun's reminder, and he squatted there in a daze. Just now when brother Yun mentioned the red back of his hands, something flashed in his mind, but it was too fast, and he didn't catch it.

Jiao Yun was not in a hurry, he just squatted on the stone steps, stretched pretending to be bored, his arms were short, and he couldn't reach the pillars at both ends.

This unintentional action reminded Tao Yuzuo, his eyes suddenly lit up, and he stood up abruptly: "Yes, the direction is wrong."

If Gong's arm bumped into the pillar during the struggle, the jade bracelet shattered, but if the arm was raised and bumped, the jade bracelet would fall back and could not be hit at all; but if it was falling, it would touch the pillar first. It's the fingers. Once the fingers hurt, they will withdraw their hands first, and the jade bracelet will naturally not be broken.

What's more, there was no red mark on Gong's wrist from the impact, but...

"No, then the jade bracelet was not broken when it hit the pillar, but how could it be broken properly? Could it be broken during the struggle with the murderer, but there was no bruise on her wrist, but a red mark on it, too. It's so thin, it doesn't look like it's pinched by fingers." Tao Wuzuo muttered to himself.

Jiao Yun didn't expect what the jade bracelet would represent at first, he was just used to remind him when he saw something wrong, when he heard Tao Wuzuo's words, he paused: Red seal?together?

He squinted his eyes, jumped down from the stone steps suddenly, looked around quickly, and finally raised his head to observe: "Brother Tao, why is there a lantern missing there? It won't look good without a hole."

Tao Fuzuo was puzzled, when asked by Jiao Yun, he replied reflexively: "The deceased probably tore it off while struggling. The lantern was hanging beside it at that time, and it was in disrepair for a long time. It is estimated that the deceased pulled it off. At that time It’s just there in tatters, and after the autopsy, I’m afraid I’ll accidentally step on the evidence, so I temporarily put it in the inner room.” He said, and glanced at the wing room at the end of the corridor.

After hearing this, Jiao Yun suddenly bypassed Tao Yuzuo and ran towards the wing.

Tao Wuzuo was startled, and hurried to catch up, this is the scene, you can't run around, Brother Yun!

Jiao Yun trotted all the way to the door of the wing room, and when he crossed the threshold, he saw the tattered red lantern on the table. He leaned closer, and half of the rope was hanging down. He looked towards the end, and sure enough, the rope was rotten. Half of the incision was smooth, and the other half seemed to be torn apart by gravity.

Tao Yuzuo ran over and picked him up, "Brother Yun, why are you running? You can't run around here, what if something gets damaged?"

Jiao Yun nestled in his arms honestly, "I just heard that the lantern was broken, so I wondered if I could fix it. My grandfather used to make lanterns for me during the Lantern Festival, and I can make them too, so I can help."

When Tao Wuzuo heard him mention the old scholar, he couldn't bear to talk about Jiao Yun, and patted his head, "Okay, you can't intrude here."

Jiao Yun complied obediently, because he was hugged by Tao Yuzuo, he looked up and looked around, but when he saw this, his brows frowned, and he quickly lowered his gaze, "Brother Tao, I know, you can't just casually Breaking into someone else's house, if the owner of this house comes back, I'm afraid he will be angry."

"Hahaha what master, this house has been empty for many years. I heard that this yard used to be the yard of a favorite aunt in the mansion. After Master Yang passed away, my aunt was sent to the Zhuangzi, and no one lived there. It was abandoned... No, what am I talking about to a child?" Tao Yuzuo walked out, just when one foot stepped out of the threshold.

Jiao Yun tilted his head and was taken aback, "Hey, no way, look at the bed, table and dresser are clean, how come they seem to be empty, Brother Tao, are you lying to children again?"

His words made Tao Wuzuo take back his sold legs, and he turned his head to look back. He didn't pay much attention before, because it was deserted, so he had preconceptions, but at this time he was reminded, Tao Wuzuo put Jiao Yun down, and walked to the dressing room not far away. The front of the stage and the table were really clean, even the empty bed had a thin quilt on it.

Tao Wuzuo's face changed slightly, always feeling strange, since there are people living here, why did the Yang family say no one?

When Tao Wuzuo was standing in front of the bed and staring at the neat stack of thin quilts in a daze, Jiao Yun walked behind him calmly, looked at the thin quilt, then looked back at the cutout of the lantern, thinking of that Looking at the broken and abnormal jade bracelet, a bold idea flashed in his mind.

It's just that if this idea is confirmed, I'm afraid that all the previous testimony will be overturned and start over again.

But this intuition is too strong, he can't face it, so he can only take a gamble.

If it is true, at least it is a key evidence for Tao Yuzuo to solve the case here, because it is very likely that the murderer cleverly postponed the time of Gong's accident to avoid the real time of committing the crime, so that he can prove his alibi.

Jiao Yun was anxiously thinking about how to remind Tao Wuzuo, his gaze fell on the hook hanging the curtain, his eyes lit up, he measured his head, and returned to the table.

Then he called Brother Tao and ran towards Tao Fu. When he got close, he staggered, and his wrist was just on the silk belt that was slanting upwards from the hook of the bed curtain.

His exclamation made Tao Wuzuo turn his head and was startled. He quickly supported him with one hand, and pulled the bed curtain wrapped around his wrist with the other hand. When he let go of the hook, the bed curtain fell, and the hook fell back to the side of the bed, creating a false alarm.

Jiao Yun covered his hands at the right time, lowered his head and whispered to himself, "Fortunately, there are no red marks, otherwise mother should be worried, thank you Brother Tao for saving me."

Seeing that the child is so sensible, Tao Yuzuo couldn't bear to talk about him, and was about to wave his hand to say that there was nothing to draw his attention to next time, but he was taken aback: Red seal?And that rope...

He suddenly thought of something, stood up suddenly, as if he was sure of something, walked back to the broken lantern, looked at the broken rope, picked it up and looked at it carefully, and waited to feel the half of the smooth fracture, then suddenly turned back and stared at it. I looked back and forth at the rope on the hook of the bed curtain before, and suddenly laughed, "Brother Yun, stand here and don't move! Don't move!"

After finishing speaking, he ran out, "My lord, we were all wrong! There may be a problem with the timing of the murderer's crime!"

Hearing this sentence, Jiao Yun let out a soft cry, it's done.

Tao Yuzuo hurriedly ran out, he was usually steady, Mr. Hou wanted to say a few words, but thinking of his identity, he could only have a headache: "Mr. Tao, what are you talking about?"

Tao Wuzuo was already holding the torn lantern in one hand, and a piece of rope in the other, "Look here, my lord."

Master Hou glanced at it: "What's wrong with this lantern? Didn't Mrs. Gong accidentally tear it off when something happened?" The lantern was covered with dust, and there were a few fingerprints and footprints on it. It was like this when they came, probably because the servants put him down after the accident. I accidentally bumped into what was left behind.

Tao Wuzuo pushed a piece of the rope forward and put it together again: "My lord, this is what I'm talking about. Take a closer look, is it really okay for the rope to break?"

Master Hou saw Tao Yuzuo's seriousness, and his expression became serious. He leaned over and examined it carefully. Looking at it this way, there was indeed something strange: "This incision... seems to be too flat here."

Tao Wuzuo: "It doesn't seem like it's really flat. My lord, wait a little longer." After he finished speaking, he asked Lord Hou to hold the lantern firmly, and ran quickly to the stone steps where Gong's accident happened. Pick up those humble jade bracelet fragments.

Master Hou realized something, and looked at a few yamen servants.

They also went to help, and when all the pieces were picked up, Tao Wuzuo put the jade bracelet on the stone table next to the open space and put it together.

Except for fragments that cannot be put together, the general shape can be.

After putting it together, he carefully inspected the broken gap, and finally found an extremely smooth place.

At this time, Master Hou had come over and stood behind him, Yang Da and the others also came over, wondering what this Tao Zuo was doing, it was so weird.

Tao Wuzuo took the end of the rope and the place where he put together the two jade bracelets and showed Master Hou a closer look.

Master Hou looked over, not only him, but also Yang Da and others who surrounded him also changed their expressions slightly.

If it is the same, it can be explained, but these two things, a rope and a jade bracelet, are terrifying...the incisions are very similar.

Both are half flat and half subtle.

Tao Wuzuo took their eyes into his eyes: "Look at this rope, my lord. This lantern has been hung for a long time, and the rope is rotten. If it is really torn by external force, it should be uneven, but this half is flat and the other half is so. It proves that someone cut half of the jade bracelet with a knife in advance, and it can still be hung, but it can be broken directly with a little effort. As long as it is stressed, it will be easily broken."

Master Hou frowned, "Did someone do it on purpose?"

Tao Yu wrote: "Yes, it seems that the second lady did not commit suicide, and the time when the murderer committed the crime was not just the time when the second lady died." It was only because of her nails that she was suspicious before, but she was not sure, but now there is conclusive evidence, The second lady was indeed killed.

Hou Daren and the others looked extremely solemn, "You just said that the time of the accident was wrong, what do you mean?"

Tao Wuzuo: "My lord, do you still remember the autopsy sheet? There was a very thin red mark on her wrist, because it was not obvious, so it was only recorded on the sheet, and we didn't care about it. But if..."

He thought about it, and whispered to the two yamen servants.

Soon the two yamen servants went back and forth, and when they were ready, Tao Wuzuo looked at the same old lantern that was re-hanged. It was taken from the other side, and the rope on it was cut in half.

Tao Wuzuo took Mr. Hou and others to the stone steps where Gong's accident happened, and hung a white silk again, looking for a good angle. Tao Wuzuo stood on the stone steps, turned his back, and faced the corridor. The knotty white silk, on the right hand side above the head, there is a lantern first, and then a pillar that is very close.

Tao Wuzuo tied a piece of rope on his right wrist instead of the jade bracelet, and then raised the wrist, while the yamen servant on the side wrapped the tassel at the bottom of the lantern around the rope.

After that, he hangs his head on the white silk, and hangs his head down, because his feet can step on it, and his head falls, just hanging on the white silk to form a support, but it will not strangle him, and his wrist is also just right, he uses all the strength of his whole body It's all concentrated on the neck, and then fully propped there.

Lord Hou and the others looked at it puzzled, not understanding what Tao Yuzuo was doing.

Just when the yamen servant retired and only Tao Wuzuo stood there alone with his eyes closed, he suddenly woke up as if suddenly awakened, realized the situation in front of him, reflexively looked at his entangled right hand, began to struggle desperately, and reached for it with his hand. The tassel of the lantern wanted to control her body from falling backwards.

This scene is like the restoration of the scene when Gong's accident happened.

At that time, the reason why Gong chose to pull the lantern was the only support in front of her, because she had preconceived ideas that the lantern was hung well, but when she pulled it, the rope on the lantern was unstable, and after a long time, it was also damaged. As soon as she exerted force, the jade bracelet also broke due to the external force of the previous incision, falling to the ground and falling apart.

Her body leaned back directly, and she staggered suddenly due to inertia. She was standing on the stone steps with both feet. Her neck was tightened, she could no longer break free, her body fell and her feet were suspended in the air, she could have hanged herself to death.

After Tao Wuzuo's feet were suspended in the air, the white silk tightened suddenly, and a servant immediately pulled him up.

But even so, he blushed.

Everyone present, including Mrs. Hou, was stunned. That is to say, someone deliberately designed all this, intending to use the second lady's death time they found to stagger the time when the real crime was committed.

As long as all this is arranged in advance to make Gong Shi unconscious, and then calculate the time to wake her up, then when she wakes up, her mind will be in a daze. Hang yourself.

In this way, as long as the time of her awakening is mastered, there will be no proof of her absence.

Lord Hou's expression was not gloomy: "Come here, re-investigate the alibi. From the moment Gong left Qiaozhu's sight to the discovery of the body, it is counted as the time of committing the crime!"

At the end of the corridor not far away, Jiao Yun breathed a sigh of relief, but looked back at the thin quilt on the bed, but frowned tightly: This Yang family probably still has a lot of things hidden.

Because the scope of the crime time expanded, those servants were called again soon, and one was excluded. In the end, because it was the busiest time from the middle of Chen Shi to the beginning of Si Shi, two or three of them were busy together and could testify to each other.

But in this way, there are two more people who cannot prove themselves within a few hours.

One is Qiao Zhu, the personal maid of the second wife of the deceased.

The other one is Gong Qianer, the third wife who is in confinement.

Qiaozhu shivered when she was brought back again, kneeling there with a pale face: "My lord, I really haven't seen the second lady since I came back from serving snacks..."

Master Hou: "You went to the small kitchen before Chen Shizhong, and it took only a stick of incense to go back and forth, and then you learned that the second lady was not there, where did you go after that?"

Qiaozhu's face changed slightly, "Slave, slave girl got up early in the morning and happened to be away, so she went to the ear room to hide from laziness."

Lord Hou: "So it just happened to be at the beginning of Sishi? How could it be such a coincidence that it just happened to be the time when it was confirmed that the murderer may also commit crimes during this period?"

Qiao Zhu lay there frightened: "Your Excellency, you are wronged, this servant really didn't kill the second lady!"

Master Hou: "Do you have someone to prove that you are in the ear room?"

Qiaozhu shook her head, trembling all over.

Yang San on the side yawned, "My lord, since the time of the second sister-in-law's death has been pushed forward, then I have been sleeping, so there is no suspicion?"

Lord Hou glanced at him, but he looked at Gong Qianer's nanny who served the third wife in the third room before: "You mentioned that the third lady who served the miscarriage last night did not rest until dawn, and then Si Shichu heard that the third lady was in pain. Hucai woke up and hurried over, right?"

Nanny nodded: "Yes...that's right."

Master Hou's face darkened, and then he looked at Yang San: "Did you hear that? Before again, you still have no one to prove that you have been sleeping there all the time."

Yang San retorted: "But there is still my wife in the bedroom..."

Master Hou: "But now your wife is also under suspicion. She moaned and groaned in pain at the beginning of Sishi, but you have seen her before? Or, did she see you? So, during this time, none of you are wrong. Proof of presence. You and your wife are both suspects."

Yang San couldn't believe it, "Sir, what are you talking about, my wife is still having a miscarriage."

The Gong couple on the side also looked dumbfounded, "That's right, Sister Qian and Sister are as close as sisters, anyone may kill Sister, but Sister Qian is impossible. Sister Qian can still marry like this Well, it's all thanks to my sister, otherwise, as an orphan, I'm afraid even..."

"Okay!" Master Gong gave Mrs. Gong a hand.

Mrs. Gong curled her lips, but still didn't continue. Sister Qian dared to kill her?Just rely on her?I dare not trample an ant to death.

Obviously, Yang Er is the most suspicious. When he married his sister, he said that he would not take a concubine, but turned around and kept a concubine. God damn it!

Master Hou stood up: "Okay, before the murderer is found, anyone who doesn't have an alibi will be suspected. Mr. Yang, you said that your wife is inconvenient to have a miscarriage, so let us go to the third room to inquire. convenient?"

Yang San glanced at Yang Da, Yang Da was the head of the family when Mrs. Yang was not around, and responded, "Third brother, in order to remove the suspicion of the third sibling, it's better to go and make a routine questioning."

At this time, Jiao Yun ran to Tao Yuzuo's side, raised his head, "Brother Tao, take me too, I'm young, it's not convenient for you to go to the inner room, I can send a message for you to ask questions."

Tao Yuzuo picked up Jiao Yun, and he found that as long as he brought Yun brother with him, he would always be lucky to find something that was not easy to find, "My lord, Yun brother is very good, let's take him with you, after all, here are all members of the Yang family." , we are men, it is inconvenient to step into the inner room."

Master Hou thought about it and agreed, "Then go together, and after the second son's outer room arrives, take him to the third room for questioning."

When Lord Hou and the others arrived, the third lady Gong Qian'er, who had heard the news in the inner room of the third room, had barely got up and was dressed properly with the help of the maidservant, but she was sitting behind the screen because she was inconvenient to go out for fear of getting caught in the wind.

Mr. Hou and the others explained their purpose and stood behind a door with only one gap open. Jiao Yun was brought into the room by the nanny to confirm whether the third lady was really seriously ill.

At least one can tell from the complexion.

Master Hou: "Third Madam, where have you been between Chen Shizhong and Si Shizhong?"

Jiao Yun followed silently into the room, and saw a pale and haggard woman leaning against a screen, with her back leaning on a soft pillow, with a beautiful face, coughing lightly with a handkerchief, and the whole room smelled of traditional Chinese medicine. There are familiar herbs for promoting blood circulation and removing stasis.

The miscarriage of the third wife seems to be true.

The third lady said softly, "I was awakened by the pain in the middle of the day, and soon the nanny came. I stayed in the room to rest before."

Master Hou: "Is there anyone else who can prove it?"

The third lady shook her head lightly, "cough... nothing, I barely fell asleep last night in pain until dawn, I don't know what happened during that time. I didn't wake up until the middle of the day, and then the nanny came to help me, Since then, Mammy has been able to testify."

Lord Hou was silent for a long time outside, "Is the relationship between the third lady and the deceased normal?"

The third lady's eye circles were slightly red at this time, and she raised her hand to avoid the comforting hand of the nanny, "I have a very good relationship with my sister. We grew up together since we were young. She is very important to me. Can Saburo and I be together?" Thanks also to my sister. I am very sad about her death..."

Jiao Yun looked at the third lady and couldn't help coughing again. He quickly looked around, especially peeking at the soles of her shoes on the footrest of the bed, and then walked back. Waiting for the Lord to let him out, he was sure there was nothing unusual Then he ran out in a hurry, but as soon as the door opened, the wind brought in, and suddenly a very faint fragrance rushed into his nostrils, and he turned his head to look in the direction of the outer wing.

After being urged by Master Hou, he ran out and told what he saw that the third lady was indeed having a miscarriage.

However, if he smelled it right just now, the smell that came inadvertently before he opened the door and left seemed to be soothing incense.

I didn't smell it before because it was covered by the smell of traditional Chinese medicine.

Master Hou didn't ask anything, and asked people to find the maidservant and servants of the third bedroom, because last night he was so busy taking care of her until dawn, and the nanny said that the third lady had just gone to bed and she didn't want to disturb her, so no one came.

Yang San shrugged his shoulders and yawned again, "Look, my lord, I said my wife is fine, how could she, a weak woman, kill someone? I was in the room at the time, the suspicions of both of us are gone, right? "

Tao Yuzuo couldn't help but glanced at him: "Why don't you tell me where did you go last night so you're so sleepy?"

Yang San touched his nose, but remained silent.

Jiao Yun leaned in front of Yang San, "Brother, do you usually sleep well at night?"

"Ah?" Yang San saw a child, and just wanted him to go far away, but thought that this was from Lord Hou's side, so he forced a smile, "How is it possible? I slept soundly."

"That's it..." Jiao Yun quickly ran back to Tao Yuzuo's side without saying a word.

At present, four people may be the murderers who killed the deceased Gong.

The first one is that Yang Er, the husband of the deceased, had an outside room. He might have had a reason to kill the deceased due to the quarrel, but the Yang family and the Gong family had business dealings. As Yang Er said, if the deceased died I'm afraid it will be a blow to the Yang family's business;

The second one, Qiao Zhu, was the deceased's personal maid, but she obeyed Yang Er, and Yang Er told her to hide the nails, so she hid it. Qiaozhu wanted to show her loyalty to the only remaining male master, but it is also possible that the deceased was killed by Qiaozhu, so she cooperated with Yang Er to conceal these details;

The third one, Yang San, he didn't have an alibi, but his motive for killing the second sister-in-law was not that great;

The fourth one is the third lady, Gong Qianer, who is also the cousin of the deceased Gong. The two are said to have a very good relationship. There are in the outer wing room, but there may also be in the inner room, just because the smell of traditional Chinese medicine hides it, or Yang San is lying when he said that he slept very well, or he may have put the tranquilizing incense in the incense burner himself.

Jiao Yun straightened out his thoughts, but he couldn't do anything, he could only read the testimony of the other room after he came, and ruled them out one by one.

But now I can find a few puzzling points: first, why is there someone living in the wing of the abandoned garden?Who lives there?Since Tao Wuzuo also knows, he will definitely ask later, and this doubt will be answered later.

Second, why did the deceased go to the abandoned garden in such a well-dressed manner? Was it invited by someone or... was there another more hidden reason?

The third one, the third wife's miscarriage, is it really her own fault?But the Yang family is a wealthy family in Changyang County, so it is impossible to let the Yang family's children die one by one, or is there a deeper reason?

Fourth, the second wife is said to have married into the Yang family for three or four years, why hasn't she given birth to a son and a half?

The outer room finally came late, and the yamen servant who went to call for someone mentioned that the location of the outer room was a bit far away, and it took an hour to go back and forth, almost half of Changyang County.

Mr. Hou looked at Yang Er more, it seems that in order to hide it from his wife, it is enough effort, but he still knows.

A servant girl was brought from the outer room, and she knelt there with downcast eyes, "My lord, on the way here I have heard that the second master was indeed with me at that time, and this servant girl is the witness."

Master Hou: "Apart from the two of you? You are the second son's concubine and have a close relationship. Your proofs are countless."

The outer room was stunned, "This... because the second master didn't want... Madam to know, so he kept it a secret from the beginning. There are only two masters and servants in the yard, and I was the only two at that time."

Lord Hou: "The suspicion of the Second Young Master still cannot be cleared..."

The outer room was a little panicked, "But, but the second master was indeed with the concubine at that time."

Yang Er also had an ugly face, "My lord, why should I kill her? What good will I gain by killing her?"

Master Hou didn't say anything, even so, without definite evidence, his suspicion still can't be cleared.

At this time, Tao Wuzuo saw that Yang Er's suspicion could not be cleared, and asked what he had always wanted to ask: "Second Young Master, have you ever set foot in the abandoned garden where your wife died?"

"Huh?" Yang Er was in a state of anger, Tao Fu asked abruptly, he was taken aback, his expression was slightly startled, then he rolled his eyes, "No."

But his expression didn't look like that, Tao Yu was aggressive, "Then who lives in the abandoned garden? Didn't the Yang family say that the abandoned garden has been abandoned for many years, but why is the wing room at the end of the corridor spotless, and even has a thin quilt?" At this time, it was March and April, and the sky was still a little cold. The preparation was so appropriate, it must be used at this time.

Tao Wuzuo and Jiao Yun kept staring at Yang Er, and found that when a thin quilt was mentioned, Yang Er's face turned livid, as if thinking of something, his back molars were clenched, his fists were also clenched, but then they let go , turned his head to the side: "How do I know? I've never set foot there!"

Jiao Yun glanced at his face, he was obviously lying.