The old butler was curled up in the box, his body folded into strange shapes. The thighs are close to the belly, and the calves are close to the back of the thighs, and the feet are straight.

Of course, if it is not folded in this position, the lid of the box will not be fastened.

But the consequence of this posture was that his leg bone broke off at the knee. He was old, his bones were brittle, and he couldn't pose, so he needed to be flexible. Therefore, when he was lifted out of the box, his calves hung limply on his knees, as if only the veins were still connected to his body.

The smell of his body is not heavy, and he should be dead for a day. And this was confirmed by the other servants. Some people say that just yesterday afternoon, he also saw the old housekeeper come in to clean up Yan Bailin's house, wiping the bright blue glazed vase while secretly wiping his tears.

"No one heard his cries for help, apparently he was stuffed into this box after he was killed." Zhao Zimai looked at Baotian who was standing beside him, "Check it out and see what the cause of death is." ”

Baotian squatted next to the corpse, neatly used his middle finger and index finger together to pass through the important parts and acupoints of the old butler's body, and at the end, he looked at Zhao Zimai with some confusion, and said softly, "Childe, except for the broken leg bone, there is no external injury on the surface of the corpse, and no signs of damage have been found in other parts, but his teeth are tightly locked, and his eyes are cracked, but it looks like a ......."

"What's the like?" Zhao Zimai urged him.

Baotian smashed his lower lip, glanced at the onlookers, and whispered, "It looks like I'm scared to death." ”

"Scared to death?" Yan Qingcheng frowned, "I just know that his body has not been very tough in recent years, and he will gasp when he walks too much, and his father also mentioned that he will be released at the end of this year." However, if you are a good person, you won't be scared to death, right? ”

"It depends on what he encountered," Zhao Zimai's gaze fell on the old butler's broken kneecap, and his face couldn't help but sink, "Qingcheng, don't you think this matter is a bit strange?" “

Yan Qingcheng knew that it was inconvenient for him to say something in front of everyone, so he nodded and came to the courtyard outside the house with him.

The wind, which was still howling wantonly, stopped at some point, and the branches of the big willow tree in the courtyard hung listlessly, and they didn't bother to move. Zhangtai is near the sea, and the weather has become like a child's face, which is unpredictable. Now, although the dark clouds were still overhead, the moonlight could already see the stitches falling, and the entire courtyard was covered with a thin layer of silver veil.

Zhao Zimai walked under the willow tree, then looked back at the candlelit window, and whispered, "Qingcheng, the body is intact." Cui Yun and Uncle, they are all missing a part, but he is intact. ”

"And," Yan Qingcheng casually pulled a wicker stick and twisted the willow leaf on it between his fingers repeatedly, "And what I don't understand is why he was killed, he is usually cautious and conscientious, and never conflicts with others, why him?" ”

"Then why is it Miss Cuiyun, why is it ...... Uncle? ”

"I ...... I don't know. ”

The terrible silence spread between the two, and I don't know how long it took, Zhao Zimai spoke first, "I still think it's the problem of the urn, Baotian saw the abbot and uncle go to the courtyard of the Four Waters Returning Hall, and he also heard them say......"

His words came to an abrupt end, and two little girls walked in at the gate of the courtyard, because the two were standing in the dark, so they didn't notice that there were people in the courtyard, and only talked to themselves.

"The old lady is very crazy today, she has been shouting, and she can't stop it."

"Hey, I don't know who it was, I slipped out about the master, so the lady made a fuss. However, on weekdays, the lord has to come to see his wife several times a day, and it is estimated that he can't hide it after a long time. ”

"I heard my wife keep talking about urns, red jade soup, and what do you mean?"

"Who knows, but blessings and misfortunes depend on each other. I just listened to Lang Zhong's meaning, if people are stimulated, the illness here may be cured by itself. She pointed to her head, sighed again, and said, "I don't think it's good, but when I woke up, I found that the person who had been waiting for me was gone......

"Well, don't talk about that. I think we'll have to think about the way back. Another one died today, and if you can't keep it, the next one will fall on your head. In my opinion, the Yan family can't stay here. ”

***

The news of the Yan family's strange news soon swept through Zhangtai City like snowflakes, and even Baijiao City, which was dozens of miles away from Zhangtai City, was also discussing this matter.

There are all kinds of rumors, some say that their family has offended a certain big man and has been tricked; Some say that a killer who came and went without a trace sneaked into Yan's house, and he wanted to take someone's life while the night was dark and windy.

The people of White Reef believed these rumors, for in the days suddenly there were many people in the city looking for work. They were all maids and servants in Yan's house, and they fled one after another for fear of becoming the next victim, even though the Yan family had more than doubled the monthly silver.

"Weren't you a little servant of the Yan family before, do you have any inside information?" The shopkeeper of the tavern leaned on the counter, tapping his knuckles on the table while asking a guy who had just arrived, "What happened to this Yan family?" ”

The young man pouted, "You can be regarded as asking the right person, don't look at my young age, but I work next to our master." So in the past few days, I have seen everything that has happened at home, and nothing has been left behind. ”

The shopkeeper was interested, leaned his head forward, and raised two fingers, "I heard from others, including Master Yan, that the Yan family has already died three times, and the corpses are not neat. I also heard that the Yan family was doing too much business and blocked the way of the emperor's relatives and relatives, so he was ......"

As he spoke, he slashed with his palm down and made a "click" motion.

The young man blinked mysteriously and lowered his voice, "It's true that the corpse is not neat, and another rumor is pure nonsense. You don't know, what about our Yan family, oh no, now I have to talk about their Yan family, what about them, they have a good relationship with the above. On the day of Master Yan's birthday, guess who came? Let's put it this way, just guess upwards, so that I don't have to scare you by saying it for a while. ”

The shopkeeper was amused by him, smiled, stretched out his hand and patted the young man on the head, "Who else could it be?" Could it still be Kyoto's Shousuke-sama? ”

The young man's face showed a smug look, and he raised his eyebrows and said, "Almost." ”

"Almost? You're too young to talk nonsense. I'm talking about Zhao Wen'an, the first assistant of the Military Aircraft Department, who is in power and opposition, and who is in charge of both internal and foreign affairs. The shopkeeper was surprised.