Ou Zhengxue nodded and said, "What were you doing on the night your mother-in-law was killed, can anyone testify?" ”

Blacksmith Liu said: "That night, I drank with Wang San, Xu Laozhu and Zhang Xing, and drank until almost dawn, and then we fell asleep on the wine table. ”

Zhen Zhutou said: "The other three people have been interrogated separately, and it is true that he did not have the time to commit the crime, and they were still drinking when they died." At that time, we only verified this, and knew that Blacksmith Liu was no longer suspicious, so we didn't ask again. ”

Ou Zhengxue said: "Is she literate?" Have you ever bought a book, read a book? ”

Liu Blacksmith said: "I know some words, but I have never seen her buy a book."

The two asked some more questions, and when they came out of Liu's blacksmith house, Zhen Zhutou said, "How is Mrs. Ou, have you thought of anything?" ”

Ou Zhengxue frowned slightly and said: "It's just that I faintly feel a little strange, I always feel that something is wrong with this case, and I can't tell it now." ”

Zhen Zhutou said: "Don't worry, we still have time, from the original case, it seems that this murderer kills one person every month." Now we have at least half a month left, and as long as we hurry up to solve the case, we will definitely be able to catch the next deceased before he appears. ”

Ou Zhengxue nodded.

After thinking for a while, Ou Zhengxue said, "Let's go to this blacksmith Liu's neighbor's house and have a look." ”

Zhen Zhutou nodded and said: "Okay, I haven't visited these neighbors, if I can ask for clues, you and I will also be credited." ”

Ou Zhengxue walked with Zhen Zhutou and soon arrived at the door of Blacksmith Liu's house.

At this time, Blacksmith Liu was still in the blacksmith shop, and the door of his house was closed. I saw a small courtyard north of Liu's house. The door was open, and two old ladies sat under the big tree at the door.

While enjoying the shade, chat in a low voice.

Ou Zhengxue motioned to Zhen Zhutou to stop and not to follow. He walked up and accosted the two old ladies.

"Two old men, do you know where the family has gone?" She pointed to Liu's house.

An old lady in a flower gown with small eyes, white hair, and a look of more than seventy years old, said: "You mean the Liu family, the Liu blacksmith went to make iron." ”

Ou Zhengxue said softly: "The little woman is the woman who came to find Blacksmith Liu. ”

The old lady glanced at her and whispered in confusion, "You don't know? You're from out of town, aren't you? ”

Ou Zhengxue pretended to be puzzled and said: "Exactly." The little woman came from afar. It's to get back the taels she owed me three years ago. ”

When the old lady heard this, she said regretfully: "Then you didn't have to arrive, this Liu blacksmith's woman was killed." If Blacksmith Liu doesn't admit it, you will run for nothing. ”

Ou Zhengxue touched the melon along the vine. Pretending to be anxious, he said, "Why was someone killed?" I've never met Blacksmith Liu. He must not have paid it back. ”

The old lady was embarrassed when she saw her like this. She also shook her head and sighed, while another slightly younger old lady in a blue coat muttered in a low voice, "That woman, who does not abide by women's morals and has an affair with a wild man. At this time, I'm afraid that I will be burned, and I am afraid that I will be killed by wild men. ”

"How do you know?" The old lady in the flower coat was very curious, and pulled the old lady in the blue coat and asked.

The old lady in the blue coat said: "I saw it once half a year ago, when she entered a big house with a man in Quchifang. The two of them tugged and tugged, eyebrows flickered, by the way, I also heard the man say, I miss you.

Tut-tut, it's really a male thief and a female prostitute, and it thundered that day. I'm too old to bother with these things, otherwise I would have sued the official for adultery, but I would have been killed. ”

The more the two old ladies talked, the lower their voices became, and Ou Zhengxue knew when she heard this, so she didn't continue to listen.

She turned around and found Zhen Catcher's head.

Zhen Zhutou said: "Ou Niangzi, what are the gains?" ”

Ou Zhengxue smiled: "There really is." One of the two old ladies had seen that Blacksmith Liu's mother-in-law had a private meeting with a man, that is, she did commit the "Female Commandment", as for how the murderer knew, I don't know.

Looking at the appearance of that blacksmith Liu, he should not know that his mother-in-law has an adulterous affair with others. ”

Zhen Zhutou nodded and said, "That's true, oh, by the way, Wang Zhutou is coming back soon, saying that he has gained something." ”

Wang Yu stepped forward quickly and said, "Zhen Zhutou, Ou Niangzi, we are investigating by the lake, and sure enough, there is a woman from a fisherman's family who did not return overnight, and I found a family member to identify the body as this woman." The man from this family went to visit relatives in Thirty Miles three days ago and has not yet returned, leaving only two children and an old man at home. ”

Ou Zhengxue nodded and asked, "Can you interrogate this woman's neighbor?" Does this woman usually not conform to the "Female Commandment"? ”

Wang Zhu said quickly: "I asked three neighbors and said that this woman had an adulterer outside, but the men in the family were still kept in the dark. ”

Ou Zhengxue nodded and said, "Hard work, Zhen Zhutou, the second corpse should be able to find the source of the corpse soon."

Now you can go to check Changxingfang, the official who was heavily rewarded by the emperor three months ago, the concubine who can play the piano and write, suddenly disappeared.

In addition, you should privately inquire whether there is an adulterer outside this concubine's room. If there is, then there is no doubt that this person is the person. ”

Zhen Zhutou was puzzled: "How did Ou Niangzi come to such an inference? ”

Ou Zhengxue said: "First, the first and third cases were all committed nearby, and the murderer was bold and ruthless, and the two deceased died dozens of steps away from home.

It can be seen that the second case was also committed nearby, so there is no doubt that the deceased must be someone from Changxingfang.

Second, when I conducted the autopsy, I noticed that the skirt on this woman's body was made of an extremely light silk like a cicada's wings, this kind of silk I had seen in the Xianyin Pavilion was worn by an official, and he once said that it was paid tribute by Tubo three months ago, and this is the only one.

The emperor rewarded three officials separately - it can be seen that this woman is in the official's house.

Third, the deceased has been dead for so long, no one has looked for the report, no one has claimed the body, and the only possibility is that the family knows that she is dead, but because the death is indecent, they refuse to claim it, thinking that it is insulting to the court.

It can be seen that this woman has a low status in the family, but she is wearing a skirt made of such precious materials, which is both pampered and disgusted, so it can be seen that this woman is undoubtedly a concubine.

Fourth, the first joint of the ring finger of the right hand of the corpse was somewhat deformed, and there is only one possibility that this position was caused by writing with a brush when he was a child. And she's got this—"

Ou Zhengxue raised her hand and showed them the traces on her fingertips that were grinding the piano, and said, "Playing the piano and grinding." ”

Both of them nodded, and Zhen Zhutou said, "Ou Niangzi is observant, I'll wait to investigate." You've been busy for a few hours, why don't you go back and rest first, I have a harvest here, how about sending someone to inform Ou Niangzi immediately? ”

Ou Zhengxue was also tired, and said: "In this case, it is better to be respectful than to obey your fate, Zhengxue said goodbye." ”

Zhen Zhutou said: "Wang Zhutou, you go and hire a carriage to send Ou Niangzi back - by the way, why catch it quickly?" I didn't ask you to go out on an errand together, why did you come back alone? ”

Wang Zhu said quickly: "Oh, that's right. It's me who forgot to say it in a daze, He Zhu, let me tell Zhen Zhutou you, he will go home first, there is something urgent at home. ”

Zhen Zhutou said angrily: "When he was using the army, he fled without permission, and when I came back, I had to scold him to relieve my anger." ”

Ou Zhengxue said: "Don't be angry, you guys go and get busy, Zhengxue is going to buy some sundries on the street, you don't have to give them away." ”

Zhen Zhutou said slightly apologetically: "That's good, I won't send it far." (To be continued.) )