The Legend of the Royal Cat

内堂

"Captain Xue, Zhan has one more question to ask. Since there is no head on the body, how can we conclude that the deceased must be Mrs. Ma?" Hidden secrets?Zhan Zhao thought to himself.

"Reporting to Master Zhan, Mrs. Ma had personally identified the corpse at that time. Based on the birthmark on the back of the corpse and the old scratches on the left leg, Mrs. determined that the deceased was the prefect of Ma."

"Well, Catcher Xue, can you keep the clothes Mr. Ma was wearing when he was killed?!"

"Reporting to Mr. Zhan, the subordinates have kept it as physical evidence, have you read it now?"

"Very good! Pass it on, and bring the physical evidence to the court."

"Yes!—Master Zhan, would you like to listen to what happened at the crime scene first?" Xue Cheng hesitated for a while, but still put forward his suggestion. After all, Zhan Zhao didn't know much about the situation at that time.

"It's easy to be deceived by people's vision and hearing, but it's hard to hide the fact that the deceased is already dead; people's hearts are unpredictable and people's words can be deceived, but the deceased clearly has no lies! So, let's ask the deceased first!" Zhan Zhao replied.

"This subordinate is ashamed! This subordinate obeys orders! Come, pass me on as Cao Gong, and bring the clothes Mr. Ma was wearing when he was killed!"

"Cao Gong, the governor of the Xuzhou government, has seen Mr. Zhan, the imperial envoy!" An old man entered the hall and saluted.

"This is not the lobby, the elderly don't need to be polite. After Ma Zhifu was killed, you were the first to be in charge of the autopsy?" Zhan Zhao and Yan asked.

"Exactly!"

"Okay, let's state what you have experienced."

"Yes, Master Zhan, Lord Ma has no trace of poisoning on his body. There are two fatal wounds on his body. One is a wound of severed neck and beheaded, and the other is stabbed in the chest. According to Caomin's humble opinion, the wound in the chest was deep. If it was done at close range or with a lot of physical strength, it should be killed by one stab; the incision at the broken neck shows that the force is evenly distributed around the neck, unlike ordinary swords caused by one side. Why," the old man trembled a little when he said this, thinking that he hadn't seen such a technique in many years of autopsy, "but the lower officials are short-sighted, so they can't guess what the murder weapon is, and they can take the head off the neck so quickly. "

"Blood droplet—" Zhan Zhao suddenly recalled the rumored No. [-] hidden weapon in Jianghu—the blood droplet that hunts human skulls, and couldn't help sighing inwardly.

Examining Ma Zhifu's bloody clothes, Zhan Zhao frowned slightly and turned around and asked, "May I ask the old man, how long has it been since you were a yamen clerk?"

"Reporting to my lord, it has been nearly 40 years."

"Well, if the living person is stabbed in the chest, or if the neck is cut off, the blood will flow like a fountain, but the dead will not. Zhan would like to ask the old man to judge the details."

"Oh, the left chest is where the arteries and veins of ordinary people are located. The heart governs the blood vessels, and the heart qi pushes the blood to flow through the veins. Only when the circulation does not stop can life be endless. Therefore, if a living person is pierced by a sharp knife as the chest, the blood will lose restraint and the heart qi will be disordered." , once the sharp blade is pulled out of the body, blood will flow like a spring; and there are large blood vessels running on both sides of the head and neck to supply the marrow sea of ​​the living. Promoting the flow of blood is because the limbs cannot be nourished and warmed, but the corpse is cold and stiff, and at this time, the blood of cutting the neck and cutting the veins will naturally not splash out."

Zhan Zhao nodded lightly, and then asked, "Then, did the old man notice the blood on Ma Zhifu's clothes?"

"I've seen it, the blood stains on the bloody clothes are indeed strange, but I really can't find any other fatal injuries."

"Thank you Mr. Cao, let's go on first, Mr. Bao will personally try the case in a few days, and the old man will be sent to the lobby of Kaifeng Mansion to testify."

"Master Zhan, don't worry, the next official will be there at any time!" The old man turned and retreated.

"Lord Zhan, do you want to summon the yamen servants who were present at the time of the crime?" Seeing that Zhan Zhao was deep in thought and silent, Xue Cheng suppressed his doubts and reminded him softly.

"Captain Xue, the case file received by the Kaifeng Mansion mentioned that the prefect Ma was assassinated while inspecting the flood in the Linjiang Building, so who were Lord Ma's personal guards at that time?"

"Returning to my lord, I should have belonged to my subordinates, but when my lord was about to leave, I received a secret report that the huts where the victims in the west city gate lived suddenly collapsed, and dozens of victims were crushed under the rubble. My lord thought about the safety of the victims, He ordered his subordinates to lead twenty yamen servants to the rescue. The lord himself went to inspect the water situation under the protection of Wu Xing, the deputy head catcher. Unexpectedly——"If I can protect the lord with me, maybe the lord and the Wu brothers will not be able to escape. He was brutally murdered, every time he thinks about it, Xue Cheng is full of guilt!

"Where is Wu Xing? Zhan wants to ask him something." Zhan Zhao's eyes lit up.

"Deputy Catchment Officer Wu has already--ah! Report back to Mr. Zhan, Deputy Catchment Officer Wu has already died in the line of duty to protect my lord."

"What?! But died on the spot?"

"No, I was injured. I was stabbed on my right arm. The wound was the same as Mr. Ma's chest wound. The wound was small and not fatal, but the blood flow continued. The medicine stone was in vain, and finally died of excessive blood loss! Alas, poor man Brother Wu, he is about to be a bridegroom, but he has no blessing—" Xue Cheng sighed again after finishing speaking!

"Catcher Xue, pass it on to the doctor who was treating Deputy Wu and the other officials at the time of the case." The wound was bleeding profusely, and the medicine and stones were in vain—it was unbelievable, Wu Xing was the key!

"Lord Zhan, it was Cao Min who treated Vice-Catcher Wu. Cao Min was ashamed, but he couldn't do anything about that small wound, and he could only watch Vice-Catcher Wu die of blood!"

"Doctor Zhang, Zhan once heard that there are people who are born different from ordinary people, such as not feeling pain all over the body, or bleeding from skin tores, is there such a thing?"

"It is true that this is the case. However, if this is the case, it is almost impossible to escape the fate of death. Deputy arrester Wu is strong and strong. He was diagnosed and treated by grassroots before when he was injured. This situation has not been seen!"

"Is that what the acquired medicine stone or poison did?" Only then did Xue Cheng understand Zhan Zhao's doubts.

"Deputy Wu has no signs of being poisoned. As for what the medicine stone did, please forgive me for being ignorant. I only know that there are medicines for promoting blood circulation and removing blood stasis, but they can make people bleed. Oh, I am ashamed!" Doctor Zhang shook his head and sighed. .

"Xue Catcher, today you said that a genius doctor Leng came to the city, did you ask Deputy Butou Wu to take a look at his illness?" Zhan Zhao asked after a little thought.

"I went to ask for it. After seeing it, the goddess doctor was also surprised. She seemed to have something to say, but then she shook her head and sighed that she was exhausted. She turned around and left." Xue Cheng replied.

"I see. Then, did Deputy Chief Wu explain the circumstances of the incident?"

"Brother Wu was lying on the sickbed, his sanity was gradually blurred, he just kept repeating the scene of the day when the crime happened, and his subordinates have asked the master to record it, Mr. Zhan, please take a look!"

"It was almost evening at that time. My lord was standing on the upper floor near the river to inspect the water conditions, and I was standing guard on one side. The rest of the government officials were guarding the three sides of the downstairs that were not facing the river. The sun was setting and the sky was getting dark. I was about to I advised my lord to go back to the mansion to rest, and saw a dry and skinny black shadow jumping out of the water and rushing upstairs, with a slender and weird weapon in his hand, piercing into the lord's chest. I yelled "Come on", and rushed up Go forward, the black shadow drew out the murderous weapon that pierced the adult, blocked my blade, and stabbed into my left arm. He didn't want to fight, pulled out the weapon, drew another knife from behind, cut off the adult's head, and jumped back into the water , disappeared in a blink of an eye, water ghost, water ghost, the murderer is a water ghost!!!"

After reading Wu Xing's confession, Zhan Zhao's heart was twisted like a knife, his body was dry and thin, his water skills were superb, and he was unique in water weapons——water ghosts and water ghosts—this is clearly the perfect confession to turn Fourth Brother Jiang into a water ghost , However, perfection itself is a flaw!Thinking about this, Zhan Zhao made a plan.

"You guys, tell us what you heard and saw at that time." Zhan Zhao raised his head and looked at the yamen servants.

"Yes, then let the younger one go back. If there are any omissions, the other brothers will make corrections." The one-year-old elder among the yamen servants replied, "Reporting to Mr. Zhan, the Linjiang Tower is a row of attics facing the water in the east of the city. One of them. On that day, my lord and Deputy Wu went up to the attic, and our brothers patrolled on three sides. The water was very calm, with some mist, and only a fishing boat drifted past in the evening. Meanwhile, I was in the attic Every time I walk to the water's edge, I look up, and I can see the figure of the adult and Wu's deputy catcher, but there is no change. About half an hour later, the little one heard the sound of the adult from upstairs. There was a scream, followed by 'Come on', so I rushed upstairs. Before I got to the top floor, I only heard the sound of splashing into the water. By the time the little ones arrived, the adults had become headless ghosts Deputy Butou Wu was injured and fell to the ground. The water was calm and the murderer could not be found. Afterwards, we also searched in the water under the leadership of Butou Xue, but it rained heavily for days and the water was fierce, so we found nothing!"

"Well, does anyone else have additional corrections?"

"No, that's about it." Everyone responded.

"Captain Xue, did Mr. Ma have feuds with others during his lifetime? Before and after Mr. Ma was killed, was there any abnormality or loss of property in the mansion? Was there any suspicious person in the city?" There must be a reason for things to happen, although it is expected that it will not be so simple. Zhao still asked casually.

"My lord is an upright official, humble and courteous, and my Xuzhou people are simple and kind-hearted. As far as my subordinates know, my lord has never had any quarrels with others. Apart from being filled with grief and panic, no one else has been seen in Ma lord's mansion and government office. As for the last point, the subordinates are incompetent, and there are so many disaster victims pouring into the city, it is impossible to check their identities and backgrounds one by one." Xue Cheng replied.

"Yes, Mr. Zhan, I can't think of anyone who would murder such a good official as my lord, let alone why!" All the yamen servants echoed, and they couldn't hide their expressions of grief and indignation.

"Okay, I know everything. You guys go down first." Zhan Zhao signaled everyone to step back first, while he closed his eyes and meditated.

"Master Zhan, it's past midnight, and the guest room is ready. You haven't had dinner yet, and your subordinates ordered the kitchen to make some supper and delivered it to the room. Your Excellency, you should go back to your room early and rest." Xue Cheng treated everyone. Step back and turn around.

After a long time, Zhan Zhao opened his eyes and smiled faintly: "Thank you for your hard work, Mr. Zhan. Tomorrow morning, I will trouble Mr. Xue to take me to two places and meet two people."

"The subordinate must be obliged. I don't know my lord—" At this time, Monk Zhang Er was a little confused. He was going to Linjiang Tower, so where is the other place?All witnesses have been seen, so who are the two people who will be seen?

"Go down and rest, you'll know tomorrow." The corners of her lips curled up slightly, and then a pair of shrewd eyes gradually became blurred.

"Yes, this subordinate is retiring. Come here, take Mr. Zhan to the guest room to rest." Xue Cheng pretended to be calm, but he was shocked in his heart, knowing that Zhan Zhao was very tired, but the dignified fourth-rank officer showed a sleeping cat appearance in front of his subordinates It's not concealed, it's too—"Royal Cat" really can't be inferred by common sense.

Back in the room, the food was already a bit cold, after eating supper, washing off the dust of the journey, thinking about Mr. Gongsun's "threat" before leaving, Zhan Zhao took the time to go to bed to catch up on sleep. "Zhan Wei, let me see your panda eyes again when you come back this time, the dose of magnet and cinnabar in the medicine will be doubled next time!!!" Mr. Gongsun said, and it is Mr. Gongsun who must practice what he says. The greatest manifestation of strength of character, so, as long as the situation permits, Zhan Zhao will absolutely obey Mr. Gongsun.

The ruined temple in the west of the city, the darkness before dawn

"Everything is done?" A hoarse, empty, cold voice without a trace of warmth came from behind the mask with blue face and fangs.

"Yes, it's a good luck!" A man in black knelt down and said.

"Zhan Zhao from Kaifeng Mansion has arrived in Xuzhou Mansion, has everything been cleaned up?" The temperature is getting lower and lower.

"Yes, the corpse has been destroyed and all traces have been destroyed! Everything that should be left has been left behind." The man in black replied confidently.

"Very good! Very good! Hahahahaha——" A series of horrifying laughter made one's heart shudder, "Go back to where you came from, if this time the result is the same as the previous four wastes did, you know what to do What's the matter!" The air was already condensed.

"Yes—this subordinate will leave!" The man in black trembled a little, and then hid himself in the night.

"This time, it's not a school, but a definite person, Zhan Zhao, let's see if you have any reason to hold back! Hahahahaha—" Horrible laughter rang out again.