White candles, thin coffins.

When Dongmen' Qing walked in with Lin Feng, the body had not yet been buried, and there were only Zhang Lian and his younger brother Zhang Po in the dim hut. After only one day's hard work, this heroic young man has become haggard, and the east 'gate' Qingxin said: "The relationship between their husband and wife seems to be not shallow. Sighed softly, put on the incense, and said mourning in front of Zhang Lian, Zhang Po responded on behalf of his brother, Lin Feng accidentally rubbed the white cloth covering the corpse, rubbed off a corner, and 'exposed' the head of the deceased, Zhang Po was displeased, and was about to bury the corpse, Lin Feng suddenly sighed, pointed to the deceased and said: "Cousin, isn't that the sister we fished up that day?" ”

Hearing this, Qing of the East 'Gate' took two steps closer, looked at the corpse, and said, "It's true!" ”

When Zhang Po heard this, he asked, "What is it?" ”

Dongmen' Qing told them about picking up a corpse through Qiaotou Ruins, and Zhang Poqi said: "Could it be that the one you picked up at that time was my sister-in-law?" ”

Dongmen' Qing glanced at the corpse again, and sighed: "At that time, we were just strangers, but we never expected it to be my sister-in-law......

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Po had already choked up and said, "Things are so coincidental!" Suddenly, I saw the east 'gate' Qing staring at the corpse in a daze, feeling that he was a little rude, and stepped forward and said: "My sister-in-law got rid of the misfortune of the fish belly with the help of Wang Gongzi, and my brother is really 'excited', but tonight, the two of you should go back." ”

Dongmen' Qing suddenly said: "I heard that the sister-in-law in the county fell into the water and drowned?" ”

Zhang Po said: "Yes, what? ”

The east 'gate' Qing said: "That's weird. ”

Before Zhang Po could ask anything, Zhang Lian had already raised his head and asked, "What's strange?" ”

Dongmen' Qing hesitated and said: "This matter, the younger brother doesn't know whether to say it or not." ”

When Zhang Lian saw him like this, he knew that something was wrong, and said in a deep voice: "What's the matter, Wang Gongzi just said it!" I can hold on! ”

Dong 'Gate' Qing Cai said: "When Wang Si was in Quanzhou, he had a relative walking in the torture room, so he went in and out there when he was a child, and he knew a little bit of the 'door' road. When my sister-in-law was fished out of the water, I wanted to see if I could be saved, so I also looked at it carefully. At the time, I thought my sister-in-law hadn't drowned. ”

Zhang Lian was stunned, and suddenly jumped up and shouted, "What are you talking about!" You said Ah Lian didn't drown! That...... That...... So How did Ah Lian die? ”

Dong 'Men' Qing walked in front of the corpse, said "offense", then lifted the white cloth on the corpse and said: "When I was walking in the torture room, an elder once told me that if you drown before death, the man will usually lie down and the 'woman' will lie on her back. Hands and feet forward. The mouth is closed, the eyes are open and closed, the hands are clenched, the abdomen is distended, and the clap is loud. The hands of the person who fell into the water were open, the eyes were slightly open, and the belly was slightly swollen; The hands of the water thrower are closed, the eyes are closed, and the abdomen is distended sharply. The soles of the feet are wrinkled and not swollen, the hair is tight, there will be sand and mud on the head and hairline, between the fingers of the hands and feet, or in the shoes, and there will be water foam and some pale 'colored' blood stains in the mouth and nose, or there may be scratches and damages, which are the signs of drowning before death. Because a person falls into the water before he dies, he must struggle desperately, and his qi and veins twitch water into his intestines, so his hands are naturally bent, there is sand and mud in the cracks of his feet, there are water foams flowing out of his mouth and nose, and there is water swelling in his abdomen. ”

The deceased was a 'female', and the East 'Gate' Qing was not good at moving the body, but he said the same, Zhang Lian looked at the same, looked at his mouth, eyes, hands and feet, and patted his deceased wife's stomach, all of which did not agree with what the East 'Gate' Qing said! The sadness in his eyes gradually faded, and resentment gradually grew, and he asked in a hoarse voice: "Wang Gongzi, do you mean that Ah Lian was killed by someone first, and then pushed into the water?" What did the county officials say that? ”

Zhang Po said: "My sister-in-law's hands and feet, fingers and fingers are very clean, and my clothes have been changed, don't let the county helper clean them - maybe this is their rule." ”

Dongmen' Qing shook his head and said, "There is no such rule in the torture room. He added: "At that time, when we scooped up people in Qiaotou Market, my sister-in-law's fingers were not muddy, her stomach was not very swollen, and her mouth and eyes were not compatible with the drowning person, so I expected it to be a homicide, but I didn't say much, thinking that the servants would not 'get it wrong' about such an obvious thing - it was not only us who were present at the time, Zhang Po and Zhou Gong of Qiaotou Market were witnesses, they may not have noticed the problems of fingernail gaps, eyes, ears, mouth and nose like me, but the stomach was not swollen, I should still remember, if the eldest brother didn't believe it, Call them in and ask ......"

Before he finished speaking, Zhang Lian had already roared: "Then according to you, how did Ah Lian die?" ”

Dongmen' Qing glanced at the corpse again and said, "If the deceased had been killed before entering the water, then the hair would be loose, the belly would not be swollen, the mouth, eyes, ears, and nose would not have water flowing out, the fingers and claws would not have sand and mud, the hands would not shrink, and the soles of the feet would not be wrinkled but swollen. But after a few days of the sister-in-law's corpse passing through the hands of the puppet, it doesn't mean anything if there is no water flowing out of the mouth, eyes, and nose. However, the flesh and color of the corpse are still different from those of the drowning person, and most of the body has fatal injuries or symptoms of poisoning......" Speaking of this, Lin Feng next to him shouted: "Cousin, that day I clearly remember that this sister had a black ...... on her neck"

Zhang Lian sighed, leaned closer to look at his wife's neck, stretched out his hand and rubbed hard, after grinding for a while, some powdery things fell off, and the east 'door' Qing picked up a little powder and looked at it, and said: "Things are really strange!" The body of my sister-in-law was tampered with. Brother Zhang, I think you have to investigate this matter. ”

Zhang Lian rushed out with a strange scream, but he was dragged back by his younger brother Zhang Po, Zhang Houming and Zhang Lang also walked in when they heard the sound, and asked what was going on, Zhang Lian pointed to the body of his deceased wife and said: "Ah Lian was killed by someone!" Ah Lian was killed! That damn! even used his hands and feet on her, lying to me that Ah Lian drowned! What the hell is he hiding! What the hell is he hiding! ”

Zhang Houming's uncle and nephew looked at each other when they heard it, and they didn't know why, so Zhang Po roughly repeated what Dongmen' Qing Fangcai said, and led them to see the black green on the corpse's neck, Zhang Houming and Zhang Lang were also shocked when they saw it, and said: "Things are really strange!" ”

Zhang Houming said: "If this act either accepts benefits, it has something to do with the murderer!" Maybe he himself is the murderer! ”

At this time, there were also people in the neighborhood who heard the sound to inquire, and when they heard that Lian's sister-in-law was killed, they exploded the pot, and the young and vigorous people shouted to find the murderer to take revenge, and the older said to be cautious, and the patriarch Zhang Houde stood up and questioned this statement, saying: "Saying that Lian's sister-in-law was killed by someone, it's not all said by the foreigner, don't be deceived by him." ”

Zhang Po was furious, pulled him forward, pointed to the black green on the corpse's neck and said: "What else is bloated, I don't understand, but look at what this is!" Are you in collusion with the murderer, so help exonerate you? ”

Frightened, Zhang Houde hurriedly shut up, but there were still old men who said that they couldn't be abrupt, and one said: "I know that there is an old man in the neighboring village, so let's go and ask him to take a look." Several old men said that they were all good, and some people said that they wanted to find all the witnesses who were salvaging the bodies of the Qiaotou Ruins that day, and carefully interrogate the situation of the day to see if they had done anything wrong. Others suggested going up the river to see if anyone had seen any suspicious people or things that day. This incident was originally caused by the celebration of the East Gate, but the people of their own tribe became gossiping, and they all became bystanders.

After dawn, the people of Wushiwei went their separate ways, first Zhang Po and Zhou Gong, who had seen the corpse that day near Qiaotou Market, were all found to confront the East 'Gate' Qing, and under the careful guidance of the East 'Gate' Qing, they each remembered some of the salient features of the corpse, especially the two points that there was no obvious belly distension and black green on the neck were remembered by everyone. Soon the retired servant from the neighboring village came, only looked at it twice, and said: "Alas, Zhang Judian, my sister-in-law was really killed!" "The reason will come out, and the result is the same as what the East 'Gate' Qing said! At this time, the whole clan had no suspicion, so they all instigated to sue the fake murderer, and asked the county master to search for the real murderer, and also gave justice to Wushiwei.

When the outside was 'chaotic' and 'chaotic', Chen Baifu said: "Why don't we notify the owner of the forest village here, and when they go to complain, we will rob this stone warehouse!" ”

Wu Ping frowned when he heard this, and said in the east 'gate': "Don't worry, wait until they lose the lawsuit." ”

Chen Baifuqi said: "Losing the lawsuit? hasn't fought yet, how does Childe know that he will definitely lose? ”

The east 'gate' celebrated: "Zhang Lian is stunned with hatred this time!" Zhang Po is casual again, and Zhang Lang is a muddy person! They don't want to think that the murderer can buy off the county's work afterwards, can it be a powerless person? If this matter is kept secret, investigated slowly, and then suddenly attacked after there is real evidence, there may be a few chances of victory. Now that the news has leaked out, and all the towns and villages know about it, the murderer will naturally not know it! As soon as the other party takes precautions, does he still want to win this lawsuit? ”

Another day, Zhang Lianyue's family also heard the news, this time there were more people who shouted grievances, that day asked a neighboring village to write a paper, inquired about this day "put the billboard" out, then carried the body, went to the county government to cry. Lin Feng wanted to see the excitement, and the east 'gate' celebrated: "There's nothing to see, I have to come back this time." Lin Feng asked why, and Dong'men' Qing smiled: "You ask like this, you don't know the procedures for handling the case at the Ya'men'!" ”

It turns out that the county government does not accept lawsuits every day, or once every three days, or once every five days, before the "notice board" is displayed, and this day is the "notice release day". If there is a lawsuit that cannot be mediated, on the day of the lawsuit, the plaintiff will hold the paper and hand it to the county government in turn, and after the pleadings are handed in, the criminal room will take over the registration, and the county officials will not hear the pleadings immediately for the sake of prudence. Dongmenqing is from a family of officials in the southeast, and these things are too familiar to be familiar!

As a result, on this day, Wushiwei hundreds of people made trouble for a day, and finally did not go out of the east 'gate' celebration or returned to the village as expected, most of the popularity was leaked, only a few relatives were still full of hatred, and the next day went again, Lin Feng wanted to see the excitement again, and the east 'gate' celebration said: "Today is a little interesting." If this magistrate immediately signs to investigate the murderer, then this is a big man, but when he sees that it is a headless public case, he will shirk and let Zhang Lian find the murderer first, then even if this magistrate does not accept the gift of the murderer's family, most of them are a person who does nothing. ”

Lin Feng heard it and said, "Then I won't go to see it." ”

East 'Gate' Qingqi said: "Why? ”

Lin Feng said: "My uncle often said that Lord Qingtian is only available in stories, and now it is impossible to find it." So there should be nothing to see. ”

Dongmen' Qing smiled and said: "Also, seven or eight out of ten people who have come to see this way are all noodles and vegetables, if Rao Ping has a Qingtian master, he will definitely not be bad in the past two years." ”

On this day, Lin Feng said it again, and Lin Zhixian, who was in charge of Rao Ping, knocked his head on the head regardless of Wushiwei's father, but just called back with the sentence "the evidence is insufficient and the defendant is unknown", and did not accept their pleadings. Zhang Po was so angry that he jumped up and shouted on the spot, shouted and scolded, annoyed Lin Zhixian, ordered the messenger to beat him out of the 'mess', and pointed at Zhang Lian and said: "You are a pawn, although you are not in the stream, but you are still doing things for the court, why are you so ignorant of the general situation?" Just rely on the sowing of discord by a passer-by from a foreign country, and the nonsense of an old man who is making nonsense, and he will make such a thing! It's spread out, where are we sparing our faces? Where does the majesty of the imperial court remain? Now the Son of Heaven is on the throne! The top and bottom are safe, there is nothing to do inside and outside, don't wait for no wind to rise 'waves', and the overall situation of stability and harmony in my Ming Dynasty will be bad! Otherwise, don't blame the county for being dealt with strictly! Remember the first offense, and don't blame it, otherwise you will take away your money! Ignoring the villagers' grievances, he returned the paper.

After the villagers of Wushiwei were driven out, they felt both aggrieved and helpless, Zhang Po was full of depression, Zhang Lang said: "This time it's all our fault, and we are in a hurry to sue before we find the murderer." Otherwise, let's find a way to find out the murderer first, so that the county magistrate can't help it. And they all had a point. But how do you find it? But there are different opinions, and there is no consensus.

Zhang Lang had an idea in his heart, and when he returned to Wushiwei, he found Zhang Houming and Zhang Po and said: "I think it is really not easy to find the murderer in the vast sea of people. ”

"A high bounty?" Zhang Po said: "We don't have a lot of money in our hands, we can get together ten taels or eight taels, if we want to offer a high reward, where will we get the money?" ”

Zhang Lang said: "Let's embroider the 'tide' in the warehouse and 'get' some to sell to Wang Gongzi, won't we have money?" ”

Zhang Po exclaimed: "How can it be done!" ”

"Why not!" Zhang Lang said: "It's not like we haven't sold it before!" Furthermore, do you think it's your sister-in-law's hatred that is important, or is this 'tide' embroidery important? Zhang Houming listened and agreed.

Zhang Po said: "That...... I have to discuss it with my second brother. ”

As a result, as soon as they told Zhang Lian, Zhang Lian was still immersed in his wife's hatred, and he was a little confused, so Zhang Lang took the opportunity to say to Zhang Po: "Look, he doesn't object either!" ”

Zhang Po gritted his teeth and said, "Okay! ”

At the moment, I made up my mind to find the east 'gate' celebration, and the east 'gate' celebration was also bold, first took out a hundred taels of silver to let them do things, and as for the 'tide' embroidery, "I'll talk about it later." The Zhang brothers were overjoyed, so they came up with a reward. Dongmen' Qing secretly sneered, thinking that this matter must be difficult to achieve, but he didn't expect that the news of the reward came out only one day later, and there was an echo: a wandering 'wave' man ran away and claimed that he not only saw the murderer's murder process, but also held a mountain of ironclad evidence!