Murder

When I got to the door, I saw a plain woman standing aside.

Chi Yebai didn't want to come out at first, and he really couldn't find a reason to come out, but Fu Guqing asked him to accompany her, so he had no choice but to follow her closely.Fu Guqing had heard a little about her son's wanderings in Jinyan Pond all day long, so when she heard that Shuanghua came to her, her first reaction was to force a marriage.

Hearing the voice, Shuanghua quickly took off the gauze hat on her head, and saluted respectfully, "Mrs. Sima."

When Fu Guqing looked at it, she felt a little ouch in her heart.Shuanghua doesn't wear makeup, her plain face looks like Dai's eyes and eyebrows are drooping, her thin lips are tightly pursed, her hair is like clouds, and her demeanor is dignified and neither humble nor overbearing, Fu Guqing can't see the mood of the fireworks girl at all.She didn't know that Shuanghua was Sima Liangren's informant, she only thought that she came to threaten Sima Feng to marry her, but seeing Shuanghua's appearance now, Fu Guqing couldn't help doubting her own judgment.

Shuanghua raised his head and was about to speak when he suddenly saw Chi Yebai behind Fu Guqing.

Her eyes turned red immediately, and she knelt down towards Chi Yebai with a plop: "Master Chi!!!"

Chi Yebai was taken aback, and stepped forward to support Shuanghua's elbow: "Miss Shuanghua, don't do such a big gift."

Shuanghua was supported by him, tears streaming down his face, he couldn't stand up no matter what, just clutched Chi Yebai's sleeve tightly and wept.Fu Guqing was even more surprised: Could it be Chi Yebai who caused the trouble?But he never went to Goulanwasi... Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Shuanghua sobbing: "I beg Mr. Chi and Mr. Sima to seek justice for the girls in Jinyanchi. Two children died in Xiangzhulou , there is no one in Qinshuangyuan...the death is too miserable, too miserable!"

The little girl that Shuanghua and others discovered that day was a slave bought by Qinshuangyuan two years ago.Shuanghua liked her very much, so she asked her mother to wear it next to her, and named her Xiaoyan.Xiaoyan was clever, and kept shouting around Shuanghua's sisters, and Shuanghua also wanted to teach her everything he knew. After two years of getting along, they were not only like sisters, but also like masters and apprentices.

Shuanghua is a noble lady, and she does not sell herself as a performer.Xiaoyan is not qualified enough, and her mother has always wanted to raise the price for her as soon as possible, but while Shuanghua stopped her mother, she persuaded Xiaoyan to work harder and learn more skills.Besides Shuanghua in Jinyan Pond, another famous harpist is Xuefu from Fang Feiji.Shuanghua and Xuefu have a good friendship, so Xiaoyan asked Xiaoyan to learn some tunes from Xuefu.The day Xiaoyan disappeared was the day to go to Fangfeiji to learn piano.

"I just thought she stayed at Xuefu's place and didn't come back." Shuanghua was brought into the hall by Fu Guqing's maids, and finally calmed down, and slowly talked about what happened that day, "Xuefu just went there some time ago. She has a fetus, she is weak, and she is not happy. We sisters often go to see her, and she also likes Xiaoyan, I really thought Xiaoyan was in Fang Feiji."

Fu Guqing asked someone to serve tea to Shuanghua, and asked softly, "Then you found Xiaoyan's body?"

"Yes. On the second day, some sisters and I were chatting in the alley between Xiangzhulou and Qinshuangyuan, and Xiaoyan was lying in the alley..." She closed her eyes and paused for a while before continuing to turn red Going on, "Xiaoyan was covered by several baskets, and no one noticed at first. But she bled too much...she was...was..."

Shuanghua couldn't continue speaking, trembling all over, tears streaming down her face.

Fu Guqing felt distressed when she saw it, and quickly dissuaded her: "Needless to say, my son and Xiaobai have their own way to know."

Shuanghua nodded and wiped away her tears.She was born in Goulan, so she never imagined that when she came to Sima's house today, Fu Guqing would invite her into the hall and sit down, and there was a cup of fragrant tea on the small table in her hand, which was very fragrant Mingqian Longjing.She was sad and sour in her heart. On the one hand, she felt that Sima's family was tainted with too much quackery, and they were really informal. On the other hand, she felt that this was just a courtesy that ordinary people could enjoy, but she felt sincere and apprehensive for this almost unobtainable respect. , even more sad.

"In addition to Xiaoyan, two girls from Xiangzhulou have disappeared in the past few days." Shuanghua calmed down a little, and continued, "They are all young children who did not have a high price, and they all... died after being humiliated. We Immediately report to the official, but the official said that this is not his business. He said that we should know where the Golden Smoke Pond is. He just sent a patrol there. But there was only one patrol, and after looking for a long time, he couldn't see any clues. Instead, he asked us who in the Golden Smoke Pond had a grudge against Xiaoyan and the others."

"Where's your mother?" Chi Yebai had been standing quietly beside Fu Guqing, and then asked in a low voice, "If they come forward, the official will not ignore it."

Every brothel in Jinyan Pond has money influence from wealthy merchants, and the brothel bustards can also earn a bit of face, and sometimes their words carry a bit of weight.Shuanghua shook her head when she heard the words: "They are not willing to report to the officials. If the guests know that someone died in Qinshuangyuan and Xiangzhulou, and the death is so tragic, it will affect the business. So the mothers want to make this matter It's blurry, it's said that the guests accidentally injured those children because of a momentary loss of strength in their hands... No, absolutely not! Which guest would hold a knife when going to a brothel for pleasure? And use a knife to scratch a woman's belly?!"

Chi Yebai nodded, turned around and walked out the door, calling softly, "Murong."

Murong Hai was eating a handful of pine nuts with Ah Si on the porch, he quickly put the rest in his pocket, jumped over the railing and landed in front of Chi Yebai.

"Immediately arrange people to check the Golden Smoke Pond a few days ago." Chi Yebai lowered his voice, "Return to me within three hours."

"How specific?" Murong Hai asked.

"I'm familiar with the Golden Mist Pond, but I haven't seen those missing girls. Find someone to ask and check more." Chi Yebai said.

Murong Hai nodded, stuffed the pine nuts in his pocket to Chi Yebai, turned around and left.Chi Yebai was silent for a while, and gave the pine nuts to Ah Si who was looking at him eagerly.

"Why hasn't your young master come yet? Have you reported it?" he asked.

Ah Si quickly nodded and replied: "Report. The master and the young master are talking to the child you brought back. Come over after talking."

Song Beiyan stood in the study, very uneasy.There is no Chi Yebai here, only - in his opinion - Sima Feng with a fierce face and a Sima Liang who is older and fiercer than Sima Feng.

After introducing himself to Song Beiyan, Sima Liang asked him about Wen Xuanzhou.Song Beiyan didn't dare to hide anything, so he said everything.

He was also abducted by Huazi.Pai Huazi took a few children on the road, but he was accidentally drowned in the Yulan River, and Song Beiyan barely survived among the five or six people.He was only seven or eight years old at the time, and he couldn't describe clearly what his hometown looked like, and he didn't know how to get home. He only knew that the place where he lived was very poor, and he couldn't eat a meal of meat for a year or so. He had no father or mother. Everyone calls him Song San.After landing, he had nowhere to go, so he wandered in the city near the Yulan River.

When Wen Xuanzhou met him, he was surrounded by a group of people and beat him up for occupying the begging place of other beggars.Wen Xuanzhou rescued him, asked him some things, and then brought him with him.The name Song Beiyan was also given by Wen Xuanzhou, saying that there are so many sad words in the world that he can neither hear nor complain.Song Beiyan couldn't understand this kind of polite language, but the name was easy to pronounce and it was not difficult to write, so he liked it very much.

Wen Xuanzhou is a doctor by profession, but he knows more than medicine. Song Beiyan often runs around with him, passing by Pengyang City a few times, and Qingpingyu a few times.It's just that because Wen Xuanzhou didn't bring him with him from time to time, Song Beiyan often didn't know where he went.

"But Master is really good to me." He emphasized, "He also asked me to study medicine and taught me the art of distinguishing fragrance."

Sima Liangren nodded: "Yes."

Song Beiyan seemed to be encouraged, and continued to stammer.After Wen Xuanzhou arrived at Qingping Island, he wrote a few letters, and then spent his days fishing on the boat.No one expected that he would fall into the river and die.

Sima Feng added from the side: "Xiaobai and I went to the fisherman who claimed to see Wen Xuanzhou that day, and he did say that he saw Wen Xuanzhou fall into the water. That is the confluence of the Jinyi River and the Yulan River. It was very fast, and the fisherman immediately went into the water to save him, but he was nowhere to be found."

Sima Liangren nodded again: "Yes."

Song Beiyan stood upright in the study without saying a word.It's not that he doesn't believe that his master will instigate killing, but he just feels that even if the master instigates others to kill, or kills and flays himself, the master's kindness to Song Beiyan will never go away.He had a stubborn face, which made Sima Liang laugh.

"Don't be nervous." His voice was thick and mysterious, "I'm not trying to embarrass you, but I just hope you stay at our house for a while. Your master and I used to have some friendship, and it's not sure if it's true. I am also thinking about what your master did. Can a bracelet and some other evidence convict someone?"

After he finished speaking, he turned his head and said to Sima Feng: "Sima, you also know what happened to Pinghu Qiuguang back then. You said that Zhang Fanqiu's death was full of suspicions, so are there any strange things about the suspicious points on Wen Xuanzhou now?"

Sima Feng nodded honestly: "Yes. It's all circumstantial evidence, and there is no conclusive evidence."

"That's it." Sima Liangren nodded, "No matter what, you must remember this point. Without conclusive evidence, you must never convict anyone. Our family came from a criminal background. This is an iron law and should not be underestimated. .”

Sima Feng bowed deeply: "Follow father's teaching."

"I'll follow up on Wen Xuanzhou's matter. You and Mu Ya don't touch each other. Song Beiyan should stay in the mansion. You have some medical skills. You can browse the books in the mansion's bookstore at will, and then improve yourself." Sima Liangren Chong Song said sadly.

Song Beiyan blinked, thinking what the hell, isn't this keeping me under surveillance in disguise?

But he really wanted to know what happened to Wen Xuanzhou, so he nodded and agreed: "Uncle Sima, I don't want to read, I want to go out with Brother Chi to investigate the case."

Sima Feng: "No."

Sima Liangren: "Impossible."

Song Beiyan was anxious: "Why?"

Sima Feng: "Because you don't investigate the case, Brother Chi, I am the one who investigates the case. He is helping us collect information."

Song Beiyan was taken aback, and immediately changed his words: "Then I want to go out with Brother Chi to collect information."

Sima Liangren shook his head: "You don't have martial arts skills, following Ying Beishe and those people is just adding to the chaos, and you can't run as fast as Murong Hai on horseback. How about it, if you are interested in investigating cases and know medical skills, Just follow Gan Le to learn the skills of wuzuo."

Song Beiyan was at a loss: "Who is Gan Yue?"

He had been in the study for so long, and it was the first time he heard Sima Feng and Sima Liang laugh.

"Good boy." Sima Feng patted him on the shoulder, "Gan Lele is the number one author in Pengyang and even in our dynasty, known as 'Ghost Lingshi'."

Song Beiyan felt a chill run down his back.

"He is a good man, you will like it." Sima Feng smiled sincerely and warmly.

Song Beiyan: "...No, I, I won't follow..."

Before he finished speaking, Sima Feng had already rushed out of the room: "Father, I'll go see what Shuanghua brought."

Song Beiyan felt a strong uneasiness in his heart, and quickly turned his head to look at Sima Liangren.

Sima Liangren also had a sincere and warm face: "In this case, I will take you to get to know Gan Lingshi."