Chapter 261

The rain was getting heavier and heavier outside, and it was getting darker and darker, and it was not long before noon that it seemed like it was about to fall.

Peng You hated to find out the murderer immediately, how could he really let go, even if he only went to rest for an hour or two, he didn't forget to give Cui Ning the person who assisted in the investigation, for fear of wasting a moment.

There are four people and eight officials under the judiciary, but Peng You unequivocally sent these dozen people.

Cui Ning didn't want to waste time, so he led a group of officials to find Cheng Jianshi in person.

Although the case was taken over by the Supervision Department, after all, there is no evidence at the moment, and it is not good to really bypass the assassin as a suspect. Cui Ning's official position is much lower than him, and he directly sent a messenger to invite him, which inevitably seemed disrespectful.

Anyway, it's all in the yamen, and the two-step effort is not troublesome.

Who would have thought that Cheng Yujing was not in the yamen, and after asking, he learned that this person was not there all day, so Cui Ning had to send someone to invite.

Time passed little by little, and the four assistants secretly glanced at Cui Ning from time to time, and secretly said in their hearts, didn't Cheng Assassin Shi Mo want to give this little girl a dismount?

The sky outside was getting darker and darker, and the room was damp and dim, so Cui Ning ordered someone to light the lamp.

When the lights were on, everyone could clearly see the expression of the inspector, unexpectedly not in a hurry, nor the slightest embarrassment, the thin man sat on a wide chair and held a cup of tea, quite calmly.

About half a pillar of incense, there was the sound of hurried footsteps outside.

Cui Ning could see from the side that the two people who came were dressed in scarlet official uniforms, holding umbrellas and wearing straight from the courtyard, and they did not choose to walk on the verandah on one side for fear of wet shoes and socks from the rain.

The fat man who walked in front threw the umbrella into the hand of the officer, and when he entered the house, he bowed his hand to Cui Ning with a look of shame, "The two of us are late, please forgive the inspector!"

It's the first time I've seen her, but it's like I'm very familiar, and the attitude is natural, unlike others who will always be a little surprised or curious when they see her, but it's because it's too natural, it's strange.

Heh, this is a habitual actor. Cui Ning had known about various officials in Suzhou before he came, and when he saw the official rank and appearance of the two, he guessed their identities, so he pulled the corners of his mouth and got up to salute back, "The two are Lord Lu and Lord Wang, right?"

The tone is polite, but it is clearly unfamiliar.

The fat man didn't see a trace of embarrassment, and replied with a smile, "It's the long history of Suzhou below, and this is Wang Sima." Master Cheng ordered the two of us to come and solve the case together. ”

Peng You suspected that Cheng Yujing was the murderer behind the scenes, but because the two had always been rivals and there was no actual evidence, and Wei Qian said that he wanted to take over the case, because he happened to encounter a big case during the inspection, which was really a matter of duty, even if he was suspected of one or two points, he was not allowed to pay attention to the progress of the case.

In order to avoid suspicion, it is understandable that he agreed to inspect the envoy to take full responsibility for the case, but it is understandable that such a big case has been brought under the rule of the state, and he didn't even show his face, and directly asked Sima and Changshi to come over, which really makes people don't know what to say.

Lu Changshi, that is, the obese one, doesn't look very old, at most in his thirties, and it is said that he is still the Tanhualang of the imperial examination in a certain year, but the fat and deformed appearance in front of him can't be seen at all.

Wang Sima, who has not spoken, is dressed in a scarlet official uniform, gentle and elegant, over forty years old, but his face is still handsome. The years seem to be partial to people who like to see, and the wrinkles on ordinary people's faces are charms for handsome people.

Wang Sima was born in the Shandong Shi clan, although he is already the "old Wang Xie", but he is still a high-ranking family. Legend has it that the sons and daughters of the Wang family were born very well, and when they gathered together, they seemed to be full of dazzling, and when Cui Ning saw this Wang Sima, he felt that the rumors were true.

Cui Ning invited the two of them to sit down, and then asked Cheng Tingshi, "Lord Cheng is not in the mansion today, but what is the important matter?"

Lu Changshi and Wang Sima secretly glanced at each other and did not answer immediately. The conversation paused until the atmosphere was slightly awkward, and Lu Changshi smiled and said, "My lord has always had a lot of work. ”

Does it mean that Cheng Yujing's absence from the Yamen is the norm? Cui Ning has not been an official for a long time, but he really doesn't understand the hidden meaning of these words.

Lu Changshi was clearly secretly rubbing a knife in the back of Cheng Tingshi! Examining cases is only one of the duties of the supervision envoy, and in addition to this, it is also necessary to picket the negligence of officials; if a local official makes any mistake in office and is verified and reported by the people of the supervision department, if the evidence is conclusive, it will affect the evaluation of political performance, and at worst, he will be dismissed from office!

Cui Ning remembered that Wei Qian talked about the twists and turns of the Suzhou officialdom, leaned slightly to him, and asked softly, "What does Master Lu mean that Cheng Tingshi has not been in the official office?"

The room was silent.

Lu Changshi's heart jumped, and he immediately smiled, "Lord Cui misunderstood, my lord is conscientious, even if he is not in the official office, he is going to be busy with major affairs in the state." ”

"Oh. Cui Ning breathed a sigh of relief, "I just thought about it, it really scared me, if Cheng Tingshi's corpse is a vegetarian meal, how can it be good! Lord Lu said this, I was relieved, presumably Cheng Tingshi is a good official who protects the country and loves the people." ”

Lu Changshi was shocked when he heard this, only to find that he had fallen into the pit. He looked at the little girl as an official with some surprise, the original intention was just a euphemistic eye medicine, by the way to tease her, she can understand if she can understand, just don't understand and just skip it, who knows that she understands it, and she asks it straightforwardly! Not only did she ask it, but she also tricked him!

Cheng Tingshi was squeezed out by Yang Beijia, and finally directly let go of the big and small affairs, lazy in political affairs, and there was nothing wrong with saying that it was a corpse vegetarian meal, but how dare he really offend Cheng Tingshi on the surface! Just his intentions were picked through, and he casually praised two sentences in a hurry, which sounded like a cover-up, in case Cui Ning really found out that Yang Beijia stayed in his garden all day drinking and having fun, wouldn't he, a person who talked nonsense, be implicated? !

"It's almost winter, why is Lord Lu still sweating?" Cui Ning stared at his forehead and asked slowly.

"Huh. Lu Changshi took out a handkerchief and wiped it, "I'm a little fatter, I always like to sweat, and I smile." ”

"I know a little about the way of health preservation, but this symptom of an adult is not physical weakness and fire? On weekdays, don't just worry about labor and government affairs, you have to pay attention to your body! Only when you are well can you serve the saint more. Cui Ning bent her eyes and asked, "You said yes, right?"

Lu Changshi nodded, "Yes, yes." ”

This conversation made others dare not despise her anymore.

Lu Changshi usually doesn't say anything about things, and he never leaks easily, but today he is so easily surrounded by people because he despises the other party too much?

"Since Cheng Tingshi is not available for the time being, then please help me solve the case!" Cui Ning stood up and bowed.

Those few low-ranking officials hurriedly got up and saluted back, and said one after another, "My lord's words are serious. ”

Cui Ning only saw that Lu Changshi was deliberately teasing, so he deliberately made him uncomfortable, and he didn't really intend to offend people to death, so he stopped the topic, and instead asked several of Peng You's deputies to start replying to the clues they had found so far.

Originally, it was the first time for everyone to meet such a young inspector, and they always felt like playing with a child, and they inevitably didn't take the other party in their eyes, and they couldn't figure out what kind of attitude they should take, but when they saw that Lu Changshi was deflated, they all quickly put away their indifferent attitude and treated it seriously.

Peng You's subordinate Zuo Shi surnamed Chen Zeyun started his head, "Yang Beijia was assassinated when he returned home from the government office on the night before, and it was verified that the murder weapon was a short knife about one foot long, and we did not find the murder weapon at the scene, and the little servant who had been following him disappeared. At first, Master Peng suspected that someone had bribed the little guy to commit the murder, so we immediately searched the whole city, and it was not until an hour and a half ago that the body of the little guy was found in the moat. There were no fatal wounds on the body, and the cause of death was drowning. ”

He paused and continued, "Master Peng just said, do you think someone deliberately lured Yang Bei to return home in the middle of the night so that the murderer could assassinate him in the middle of the way. ”

"Yes, the detailed situation, presumably Judicial Peng has also told you?" Cui Ning asked.

"Yes. Chen Zeyun handed over the transcribed details.

Cui Ning took a closer look and handed it to Lu Changshi, "Let's take a look at the two adults." ”

Lu Changshi had already set his attitude, took it and read it seriously and passed it to Wang Sima.

The text is more detailed than what Chen Zeyun said, including who saw the assassination process on the eve before, when he left the palace, when the body was found by whom, and the time and place are very detailed. And, there are also some people that Peng You guesses may be murderers.

Cheng Tingshi's name was at the top, and Lu and Wang didn't see it, and no one specifically pointed it out.

After both of them finished reading, Cui Ning said, "After reading the details, I have some new ideas." ”

Seeing that everyone was listening to each other, she continued, "I see that Yang Bei's mount was found a mile away from the place of death. I've heard that horses are very alert, and they are easily frightened, and some specially trained horses know the way, and if they let go, they will soon return to the stable alone, and I don't know if it's true or not?

Cui Ning hadn't seen Yang Ling's horse yet, but people who love horseback riding are naturally picky about mounts, and with his status, it's unlikely that he will casually buy a horse of inferior quality.

Chen Zeyun immediately understood what she meant, and immediately said, "Yes." Yang Bei drove two horses, one hurricane and one cirrus clouds, hurricanes are strong and good at galloping, cirrus clouds have a gentle temperament, can listen to orders, and know the way. On the night of the crime, Yang Bei rode Cirrus Cloud. What do you mean, that someone took the horse away?"

That's an acquaintance committing a crime.

"It's possible. You've surveyed the place of death and determined that alley was the scene of the first crime?"

"Sure. The rain that night was not very heavy, and it would wash away some bloodstains, but if Yang Beijia was cut open in the throat and neck, a large amount of blood would be sprayed, and if he was transferred after death elsewhere, not only would it leave traces along the way, but it would also be impossible to form a large number of splattered blood stains again at the place where the body was dumped. ”

Cui Ning nodded, and asked again, "Then what if someone stuns him with medicine elsewhere and then brings him here to do it?"

Everyone's expressions were slightly awe--it is indeed very likely!

"Yes!" Chen Zeyun's eyes lit up, "Cirrus has several characteristics, one is to recognize life, if a living person is to lead, it will never follow; At first, we speculated that it was being taken away by the little guy or that it had gone away on its own, after all, no one knew how long it would stay where it was. ”

"Did anyone hear the sound of the frightened horse? If someone killed Yang Beijia directly on the horse, Cirrus wouldn't be frightened away?" Cui Ning remembered that the horses were very crazy after being frightened, and the voice was definitely not small.

Sometimes, animals are far more alert to danger than humans.

"None of the residents in the neighborhood have heard anything. Chen Zeyun saw her frowning, so he continued to explain, "There are few houses near the Yamen, and some of them are also deep mansions, and you may not be able to hear movement in the courtyard in the middle of the night. ”