"Which of the two of you is Shuxuan and which is Mu ......?"

"Erlang has already started to ask about the case? Don't let anyone know about me! ”

Sun Shaozong was about to ask about the respective identities of the two maids, and then asked further which maid in the blue dress on the left side, but what strange things came to mind.

Who knew that as soon as the words were halfway through, Wang Ren and Na Xing Zhong turned out in the back hall.

The three people at the table all got up to greet each other, but Xue Zhen and Sun Shaoxu greeted Wang Ren, but Sun Shaozong arched his hand to Xing Zhong, calling him 'Uncle Xing'.

Although there is no blood relationship, this Xing Zhong is Jia Yingchun's maternal uncle, Sun Shaozong obviously respects him, but in fact, he takes care of the face of his own 'sister-in-law'.

But this courtesy that surpassed Wang Ren made Xing Zhong a little uncomfortable - over the years, those relatives in Rongguo Mansion, how could they have looked at him with a straight eye?

So I was at a loss for a while, and I forgot how to deal with it.

"Jiro doesn't have to ......"

When he finally squeezed out a conversation, Wang Ren on the side sat on the main seat early in the morning, and urged repeatedly: "Since Erlang has already started to try the case, then don't delay, solve this case as soon as possible, and our brothers can talk about it at night!" ”

Xing Zhong blushed with an old face, but he didn't dare to complain about anything, so he just sat back on the seat with a wilted face, and let out a harmless smile on his face.

Seeing Xing Zhong's face, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but shake his head secretly, no wonder this Uncle Xing was named as an in-law in Rongguo Mansion, but he fell to the point of going north to join his relatives.

When everyone sat down, Sun Shaozong reopened his mouth to ask the names and surnames of the two maids, but it turned out that the maid in the blue dress was named Muqin, and the one in the white dress next to him was Shuxuan, who had a good hand in painting.

"You two, what do you want?"

Sun Shaozong said 'two' in his mouth, but his eyes fell on Mu Qin.

Sure enough, this Mu Qin immediately opened her mouth and waited to say something.

However, when the words reached her throat, she swallowed them back alive, and asked hopefully: "If the slave maid says it, will there be a reward?" ”

Tut~

This girl doesn't know if it's because she lacks heart and eyes, or if she is obsessed with money-even if she wants to reward it, she should never say it in front of her master.

Liu Changfeng's father and son were a little unhappy on their faces, but they still promised in unison, saying that as long as she could remember something, she would naturally not be less rewarded.

That Mu Qinden smiled happily, but who would have thought that this was about the last money she received from Liufu in her life?

I heard her say crisply: "Lord Qiqi Qingtian, after the slave maid and Shuxuan helped the eldest young master into the house, they took the fire fold out and wanted to light the lamp, but found that the shadow of the screen on the south wall didn't seem to be right, as if it was a little different from normal days......"

"What?!"

When Liu Changfeng heard this, he almost jumped up from the ground with excitement, turned around and scolded Na Muqin angrily: "Such an important matter, why didn't you say it earlier?!" ”

As he spoke, he slammed his head on the ground again, and said excitedly: "My lord Mingjian, this is obviously a thief hiding behind the screen for a long time, and after the maids left, they waited for the opportunity to kill my daughter-in-law!" ”

Syllable~

"Shut up!"

Sun Shaozong slapped the table and scolded: "Although this place is not a public court, it is not your turn to teach this official how to judge the case, if you dare to be rude, this official will not be spared!" ”

That Jiang Ning Zhixian was still a little clever, and as soon as he stopped talking, he hurriedly called a few officials in and ordered them to line up.

Although there is no water, fire stick and hall, the atmosphere in the hall is still a lot more solemn.

Liu Changfeng wanted to distinguish a few words at the beginning, but when he looked at Sun Shaozong's cold eyes, he was like being beaten by a slap in the face, and he hurriedly bowed down.

Sun Shaozong asked Na Muqin again: "What is the difference between the shadows?" ”

"This ......"

Mu Qin was already a little timid when he saw that the old man had eaten the first row, but when he heard Sun Shaozong's question, he was even more panicked.

When I was speechless, I heard Shu Xuan on the side say loudly: "My lord, Mu Qin didn't really see it at that time, and he extinguished the fire with a shake of his hand." ”

"Yes, yes, that's it!"

Mu Qinru nodded as if she was pounding garlic as if she was amnesty, and said: "I just felt that it was wrong, and the fire was extinguished, but I really didn't see the truth, and I don't know if I was wrong-because of this, when the officials and masters asked, the slaves and maids didn't dare to talk nonsense." ”

Didn't see it real?

Sun Shaozong frowned and said, "Since you think something is wrong, why don't you light the fire fold again and confirm it?" ”

"Because of the slave maid...... The slave was afraid. ”

Mu Qin's voice couldn't stop revealing some trembling: "At the beginning, Lu Yi soaked in the well for a day and a night before he fished it out, and it was really ...... at that time It's ......."

"After that, there was some unpeace in the family, and I heard that it was Lu Yi who turned into a ghost, and he wanted to ...... I want to ask for my life from my young grandmother! ”

"So as soon as the fire was extinguished, the slave and maid panicked, and Shuxuan was also afraid of it, as soon as the two of us combined, we hurried out to find the young grandmother."

When Sun Shaozong heard this, he couldn't help but be disappointed.

originally thought that this maid could provide first-hand evidence of the scene, but who would have thought that it would be such a vague clue.

The shadow of this southern wall......

Sun Shaozong took out the layout plan of the bedroom and scanned it, and then asked, "Where were you standing in the house when you lit the fire?" ”

"Is it ...... Almost in the middle of the room. ”

According to the complaint, the screen is five feet high [about 1.55 meters] and seven feet long [about 2.17 meters], and if someone deliberately hides it behind and lights it from the front, it should not reflect a shadow.

While pondering, he asked again: "How thick is the screen, can it transmit light and reflect the figure behind it?" ”

"This ......"

Mu Qin hesitated for a moment, and suddenly exclaimed: "Ah! I remembered that there was something wrong, the screen usually took a light to shine, it was slightly translucent, and it was dark that day, and it looked very seeping, so I was taken aback! ”

It used to be all translucent?

Was it opaque before the crime?

Sun Shaozong's spirits perked up, and he seemed to have something in his head.

At this moment, Na Shuxuan suddenly interjected: "It's dark, because it was raining that day, the young grandmother finished washing in the afternoon, so she didn't let people carry the bath bucket out, there was a bath bucket in the back, and it looked naturally dark." ”

As she spoke, she shook her head speechlessly: "At that time, you couldn't tell why, I really thought you saw something dirty, but it turned out to be ......"

At these words, Mu Qin, who spoke directly, was speechless, and peeked at his master in a sneering manner, obviously worried that the 'heavy reward' would disappear.

And everyone around, including Wang Ren, originally thought that some major case was going to be revealed, but now they found out that it was a misunderstanding, and they were all disappointed.

But Sun Shaozong was not disappointed this time, his eyes were directly locked on Shuxuan, and he asked in a deep voice: "In the confession recorded in Jiangning County, it only said that the two of you went to find the Sun family together, but I don't know where you were before this?" Who is serving around Sun? ”

Mu Qin: "The slave maid is in the small kitchen, urging the kitchen ladies to make the pastries to be used on August 15, and the young grandmother is Sister Shuxuan waiting." ”

Shuxuan: "The slave maid was indeed waiting in front of the young grandmother, but because the young grandmother was worried about the small kitchen, she sent the slave and maid over to ask what was going on - later, because of some tricks, the two of us couldn't make up our minds, so we planned to ask the young grandmother to be the master." ”

And so it was!

Once it can be said to be a coincidence, but twice in a row, this Shuxuan denied Muqin's statement when everyone was suspicious.

This inevitably feels a little weird.

Especially with Liu Changfeng's words in front, anyone should know that if someone behind the screen is true, it will undoubtedly be extremely beneficial to Liu Yiqing.

As the eldest girl of the Liu family, she has denied this possibility one after another, which is really unreasonable.

In addition, she was originally serving by Sun's side, so if she committed the crime in advance, she would have plenty of time!

As for why, didn't Mu Qin find a body when he went in before......

Sun Shaozong suddenly bowed his hand to Wang Renyi and said, "Brother Wang, can you let someone carry a few screens over?" It's better to let in light – and by the way, get a tub for the trouble. ”

As soon as Wang Ren heard this, he also guessed that Sun Shaozong probably wanted to test something, and it was not a difficult thing to leave or right, so he immediately gave an order and asked the servants to follow Sun Shaozong's instructions to collect screens, bath barrels and other things.

Taking advantage of this moment, Sun Shaozong asked Shuxuan and Muqin a few more questions, such as where they went to find Sun, whether they were separated on the way, and so on.

After learning that Shuxuan had gone to the toilet on the way, and it took about half a cup of tea [three to five minutes] before and after, the balance in Sun Shaozong's heart tilted towards her a little more.

But after saying that it was not long, several servants of the palace brought several screens, large and small.

Sun Shaozong first asked Liu Yiqing and the two maids to select two screens with slightly different sizes according to the degree of light transmission in their memory.

Then he ordered someone to lift the bathtub to the corner, and gradually extinguished the nearby lights until it was adjusted to the same level as the evening of the same day, when the brightness of the murder scene was about the same, and the slightly smaller screen was placed in front.

But I saw that there was a dark mess nearby, not to mention the bath bucket in the back, and even the screen in front could only faintly see an outline.

"Muqin, you stand at a distance similar to that day, light the fire and try it."

Under Sun Shaozong's instructions, Na Muqin stood about six feet away from the screen [about 1.86 meters] and carefully lit the fire.

But I saw that the firelight was lit, and the middle of the screen was still pitch black, but there was some light faintly shining through the sides.

Sun Shaozong asked at the right time: "What you saw that day, but this kind of situation?" ”

Mu Qin shook her head without hesitation, and was about to say something, but Shuxuan on the side couldn't help but interject: "My lord, she only looked at it at the time, where do you remember ......?"

"Shut up!"

Sun Shaozong scolded, and encouraged Mu Qin: "You just need to tell the truth, not only will your master be rewarded, but my Sun family will not treat you badly!" ”

Na Muqin was originally a little hesitant when Shuxuan said it, but when he heard that the reward was doubled, he immediately shook his head and said: "That's not the case, I was looking behind the screen, it was obviously pitch black, and there was no light on both sides!" ”

When Sun Shaozong heard this, he immediately ordered the slightly larger screen to be lifted and placed in front of the previous screen, about a foot [31.1 cm].

At this time, without Mu Qin opening his mouth, everyone suddenly noticed the difference-the places that were originally still transparent on both sides of the light also became darker.

Although the degree of darkness is still a little different from the middle, at first glance, it can be called pitch black.

"Yes, yes, that's it, that's it!"

While Mu Qin shouted happily, Wang Ren couldn't help the curiosity in his heart, and asked curiously, "Erlang, what's going on?" What did you try out when you asked people to set it up for a long time? ”

Sun Shaozong smiled slightly, pointed to the two screens and said: "I heard that there is a bath bucket behind the screen, so it is not transparent, so I feel a little strange - since it is a screen prepared for bathing, it is naturally much larger than the bath bucket, otherwise how can it cover the bath bucket behind?" ”

"In the same way, because the bath bucket is much smaller than the screen, and it is an oval shape with arcs, it is almost impossible to cover all the light leakage of the screen!"

"So I assumed that there might be something in front of and behind that screen—for example, another screen!"

"If I'm right, when the two maids entered the door that day, there were two screens in the room—but for the purpose, I am afraid it was not to cover the living, but to cover the body of my niece!"

"What?!"

Wang Ren was shocked and said in disbelief: "You mean to say that when Liu Yiqing went home, the Sun family was already dead?!" ”

"This ...... It can't be, right?! ”

Sun Shaoxu was even more dumbfounded on the side, and blurted out, "Who is the murderer?" And why do you want to ......? Want to come up with such a trick? ”

Sun Shaozong smiled slightly: "That murderer came up with such a trick, naturally in order to create an alibi, and at the same time put the charge on Liu Yiqing." ”

As he spoke, he slowly turned around, locked his gaze on Shu Xuan, and sneered: "Miss Shu Xuan, but I don't know the official's inference, but what is wrong?" ”

At this time, there was not much light in the surroundings, only the fire fold in Mu Qin's hand reflected Shu Xuan's pale and bloodless face.

She was obviously flustered, but she forcibly squeezed out some smiles, shook her head, and said, "What do you mean by this, master?" The slave and maid really didn't understand. ”

"Don't understand?"

Sun Shaozong snorted and said: "If the official's inference is not wrong, there is a chance to kill the Sun family in advance, and then wait for the opportunity to remove the organ afterwards, and expose the body of the Sun family, I am afraid that only you, the personal big girl!" ”

"Big Master!"

Shuxuan knelt down on her knees and shouted injustice: "The slave maid is the young grandmother's dowry maid, and she has always been reused by the young grandmother and the eldest young master, how can it be ...... How could you do such a rebellious thing?! ”

Sun Shaozong spread his hands: "It's true that I haven't figured out your motives until now, but it should have something to do with the matter of Lu Yi." ”

Seeing that Sun Shaozong still believed that he was the murderer, Shuxuan raised his head suddenly, gritted his teeth and asked: "My lord, you said that only slaves and maids can commit this case, but I don't know where the slaves and maids found the second screen, and how to move it elsewhere afterwards?!" ”

"You need to know that the slave maid is just a mentally handicapped woman, and she is not a fierce general in the army like the eldest master, don't say that there is not enough time, even if there is enough time, I am afraid that it will be difficult to carry the screen elsewhere independently!"

Everyone had already followed Sun Shaozong's rhythm and began to doubt this book.

But after listening to her rebuttal, I couldn't help but waver.

Move the screen over, maybe there is a way to do it.

But afterwards, this Shuxuan has been with Mu Qin, and he only left half a cup of tea halfway, how could he have the opportunity to move the screen?

Everyone was suspicious, but they heard Sun Shaozong sneer: "If it is a real screen, it is naturally difficult to move, but what if it is an incomplete screen?" ”

As he spoke, he strode to the round table in the middle, held the topographic maps in his hand, and showed them to everyone: "Don't forget, our Shuxuan girl is the best at painting and calligraphy!" ”