The guests who attended the wedding yesterday are now housed in the hotel and are not allowed to leave for the time being, waiting for the police to investigate and question. At present, only Xue Sanxin and his wife are the temporary owners in the villa, and the others have a housekeeper, a maid who cleans up the room, and a gardener, the six back kitchens and four waiters.

Chu Tianyao and Xiao Rongzheng were divided into two ways, Chu took people to the hotel to inquire about the twenty guests present, leaving Xiao Rongzheng in the villa, looking for clues.

The butler was the first person they came to question, in his sixties, dressed in a crisp black suit with his head held high. The spirit in his eyebrows and eyes was no different from that of a young man.

They were in the parlor, and the butler sat across from them. Even when the old man was sitting, his waist was straight, and his hands were on his knees.

"Mr. Li, did you sleep well yesterday?"

Cheng Han tries to fill the topic with a less acute question.

"It's okay, people are getting older, they sleep less, and they can't talk about whether they sleep or not."

He looked ahead with blank eyes.

"Well, there's no way around it. Speaking of which, Mr. Xue left suddenly, and you have followed him for many years to mourn by the way. ”

The housekeeper raised his eyes and glanced at Cheng Han, "At our age, we are slowly approaching death." For this kind of thing, I have long been used to it. But it shouldn't be a gentleman's. ”

Speaking of Xue Nanguo, the old man who was originally expressionless slowly turned red on his nose.

Xu Ranran's eyes were quick, and he hurriedly took out a pack of tissues from his pocket and handed it to the old man, but he waved his hand and refused. Then he took out a navy blue silk handkerchief from the pocket of his suit and blew his nose.

"You just said it shouldn't be sir? What do you mean by that? Do you think there's something else going on in this matter? ”

Xiao Rongzheng asked while recording.

The old man did not answer him quickly, but first folded the handkerchief slowly, put it back into the small pocket on his chest, and then said, "Mr. is engaged in the work of the development of national science and technology, but with the development of science and technology, naturally someone will be replaced, and the times change, which is understandable." However, this is what we think, and those who have been forced to lose their jobs do not think so. ”

"I remember some time ago, there was a long-established coconut food company on this side of the island that had fully automated production, which greatly reduced the number of employees. Is that what you're talking about? ”

Cheng Han vaguely remembered that he had seen similar news, and he was quite emotional at the time, but he didn't expect it to be related to Xue Nanguo.

"Well, the laid-off people hated him so much that they felt that it was because of his inventions and patents that they lost their jobs. Mr. has been receiving threatening letters from that group of people for several weeks, and they have even made statements on the Internet to discredit him, but fortunately they have been stopped. ”

"So, do you suspect that the murderer is among those unemployed employees?"

"Yes, that's all I can think of." The housekeeper paused, "No, there is another person who is also suspicious!" ”

Cheng Han roughly guessed what he was going to say, "Are you talking about Xue Sanxin?" ”

"Yes, this niece has been dependent on her husband for so many years. However, I don't know much about gratitude. The night before the wedding, I also happened to hear my husband arguing with her, and she was so angry that she even picked up his favorite antique vase and went over to him. Fortunately, he hid in time, otherwise he would have gone one day. ”

Xiao Rongzheng and the others were taken aback, because although Xue Sanxin didn't have much business mind, whether it was the media reports or the text on her own social networking site, it was her gratitude to this uncle.

Could it be that her image in the hearts of everyone is just a means of her own marketing? What is the truth, I can only call her in a moment and ask her clearly.

Cheng Han took out a map of the villa and put it in front of the housekeeper, "Mr. Li, can you tell me, when was the last time you saw Mr. Xue yesterday?" Where? ”

Steward Li thought for a while, took a pen and drew a circle on the location of the garden on the map, "It should be at nearly two o'clock, Mr. said that he was tired and wanted to go back to the room to rest, I wanted to follow him but asked me to stay and take care of the guests at the wedding banquet." The reason I remember it was two o'clock was because after the gentleman left, the big clock in the banquet hall began to tell the time on the hour. ”

Cheng Hanhui thought about it for a while, she did hear two bells after she saw Xue Nanguo leave, probably because there was still some distance between the garden and the living room, so it was a little unreal.

"Can you hear from such a distance?" She was a little curious.

Steward Li disagreed, "When I was young, I did a very hard job, no matter how noisy the environment, I was ready to get the information I wanted." Such a distance, for me, is not even as good as getting started. ”

Cheng Han suddenly understood why she always felt that Steward Li's standing and sitting posture were a little familiar, but it was not the olive green appearance on TV Channel 77.

She smiled, "Then we young people are really ashamed of ourselves!" Finally, let me ask you, during this time, did you see any suspicious people following Mr. Xue into the house? ”

"This one really exists!"

His eyes flashed, "I was a little worried, so I kept standing there and watching my husband go back, and there was a little waiter following him, I didn't pay much attention to it, I just thought he was going back to the kitchen to serve the food." However, after thinking about it, in order not to collide with the guests, the waiters came out through the side door that connected the kitchen and the garden, and he went back through the main entrance. ”

"What's this waiter's name! Is he still here? ”

Cheng Han was a little excited, and Xiao Rongzheng gently tugged on her corner to calm her down.

"His name is Zhao Xiangsi, he is 20 years old, and he is a native of the island. Unlike us, they weren't live-in waiters, all four of them were impromptu for the wedding. ”

Xu Ranran repeated on the side, "Zhao Xiangsi? It's not often for a boy to have such a feminine name. ”

Although the name is feminine, this kid is very neat, and he is the most diligent of the four. So I don't know if he really accidentally went the wrong way when he was following my husband, or if he was ......"

Steward Li didn't continue, but the other three also understood what he meant.

Xiao Rongzheng stood up and stretched out his hand to him, "Mr. Li, thank you very much for this information, we will investigate it well, and I hope you can continue to cooperate with our work." ”

"It's incumbent!" Steward Li shook Xiao Rongzheng's hand, stood up, and left the living room with his head held high.

"Who do you want to call next?" Xiao Rongzheng looked at Cheng Han, who was a little haggard, and asked.

"I originally wanted to find Xue Sanxin, but now it seems that let's find this boy named Zhao Xiangsi first, and see why he is following Xue Nanguo."

Cheng Han rubbed his sore neck and took a sip of the Earl Grey black tea that was already a little cold in front of him. Steward Li came out of the kitchen with a tray carrying a pot of hot water, followed by a boyish looking child.

He refilled the bone china teapot in front of Cheng Han with hot water, and then introduced the big boy behind him, "This is Zhao Xiangsi, just ask him if you have anything to say." ”

After speaking, he straightened his waist and left, leaving only Zhao Xiangsi, who was standing there with his hands rubbing his hands and a little at a loss.

Xiao Rongzheng stretched out his hand and made a gesture of invitation, motioning for him to sit on the sofa opposite. Xu is because of the perennial sun, this boy's complexion is two degrees darker than Xiao Rongzheng. The big round eyes looked left and right, and there were fine beads of sweat running down the corners of the forehead.

Cheng Han put a clean teacup in front of him and poured a cup of black tea, "Drink some water to moisten your throat and be careful of scalding." ”

Zhao Xiangsi picked it up, brought it to his mouth but then put it down. He covered his mouth and looked at Cheng Han with some embarrassment.

"I told you to be careful, and we don't eat people, what are we so afraid of?" Xu Ranran looked at the boy's embarrassed appearance, and felt a little funny.

"Hehe", Zhao Xiangsi scratched the back of his head and smiled a little embarrassedly.

"Zhao Xiangsi, when did you come to the Xue family?" Xiao Rongzheng took the notebook just now and asked in a deep voice.

"We waiters came at noon the day before yesterday, because Miss Xue wanted the wedding to be perfect, so she specially asked us to arrive early for a rehearsal."

"Do you four waiters know each other?"

"I know, we are in a dormitory, but when we see that this job pays very well, we want to earn some living expenses together, who would have thought that ......"

His words are there, and I really can't go on.

"So, what do you think of what you did yesterday?" Xiao Rongzheng looked at him and continued to ask.

"Me? It's my first time doing this kind of work, and I'm a bit of a mess. Because each guest has their own customized meal, if you are not careful, you may be delivered the wrong one. So, the strings in my head were all tight yesterday, for fear that I would make a mistake. ”

Zhao Xiangsi wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead with his sleeve, a little unclear. He thought he had been called to ask about the cause of Xue Nanguo's death, but it turned out to be these few inconsequential questions.

"So where were you when it was almost two o'clock, or why did you follow Mr. Xue Nanguo back to the house?" Xiao Rongzheng's body slowly leaned forward, looking intently at Zhao Xiangsi's eyes.

"When did I follow Mr. Xue?" Zhao Xiangsi was puzzled, "I was already busy with my feet not touching the ground, I just listened to the voice on the walkie-talkie, and I even went into the kitchen from the main entrance in order to shorten the time. It seemed that there were people coming and going around me, but my attention was all on the dishes, and I didn't notice anything else. ”

Before they could ask, Zhao Xiangsi himself said the answer to the question. Xiao Rongzheng silently wrote it down in his notebook, and was about to let him go back, but he heard Cheng Han next to him ask a question coldly.

"Acacia, where do you all stay when you came a day earlier?"

"Well, the four of us were temporarily placed in the guest room at the end of the second floor."

"Oh? So, when you go to bed at night, do you hear any strange sounds? ”

Cheng Han clearly remembered that the damp feeling on the floor on the second floor was not something that could be formed in a day or two. If that water stain was really related to what Xue Nanguo had told her about pretending to be a ghost, then Zhao Xiangsi, who lived on the second floor, might be able to hear some movement.

This question suddenly opened Zhao Xiangsi's chatterbox, and he mysteriously leaned his head over and said, "There really is!" None of us fell asleep that night because we always heard someone whispering outside, as if it was speaking Chinese, but we couldn't understand anything. But when I opened the door, there was nothing.

In the middle of the night, I heard people walking up and down the hallway, and the sound of water, and the creaking sound of stepping on the aging floor. A few of us were so scared that we hid under the covers until dawn. ”

After speaking, he hugged his shoulders and brushed the goosebumps on his arms, "I heard that this house is quite old, I'm afraid there are some evil things." ”

"I didn't expect you to be so superstitious at such a young age?" Xu Ranran looked at Zhao Xiangsi's scared appearance and felt really funny.

Unexpectedly, he said with a serious face, "This kind of thing would rather be believed in than in nothing." Don't be afraid of 10,000, just in case! You say it's false, but who can guarantee that it won't happen. ”

Xu Ranran was speechless by him for a while, and could only smile awkwardly.

"Was there anyone else on the second floor besides you and Mr. Xue at that time?"

If that person wanted to arrange such a terrifying scene, he would have to stay in the corridor on the second floor, but what was it that made Zhao Xiangsi and them open the door without seeing a human figure, which really aroused Cheng Han's interest.

"No, plus Mr. Zhao's words, that is, the five of us. The housekeeper grandfather lives on the ground floor, while those in the back kitchen and the domestic helpers have their own separate space. ”

Zhao Xiangsi stood up as he spoke, and took Cheng Han and them to the window near the kitchen door to look out, "Do you see this hut next to it?" They live there. ”

"That is, every night, there are a total of eight people in the whole house, including Miss Xue and her wife and Steward Li, right?"

"That's right, that's right. Because the door from the back kitchen to the back garden is locked every night, they won't get a chance to come in. Moreover, if the gentleman needs anything, he will always find the housekeeper grandfather. When the young man mentioned Steward Li, his eyes lit up, and he was full of worship.

Cheng Han's question was asked, and Xiao Rongzheng remembered it almost. The two of them glanced at each other, and Xiao Rongzheng said to Zhao Xiangsi, "You go back first, we will look for you again if there is anything." ”

The young man breathed a long sigh of relief, completely devoid of the nervousness just now, grinned, showed his white and neat little teeth, and left with a bounce.

"Tired?" Xiao Rongzheng looked at Cheng Han and reached out to help her beat her back.

Cheng Han leaned towards him, "There are still many people, this is a tough battle." By the way, just now Steward Li said that Xue Sanxin had quarreled with his uncle the day before the wedding, what do you say the quarrel would be? ”

She remembered that the uncle and nephew were smiling and taking care of each other, not at all like they had quarreled the day before. Could it be that Xue Sanxin knew his uncle's decision in advance and quarreled with his uncle for the sake of the reduced half?

Xu Ranran took a sip of the teacup, "I think, it's very likely that this old Mr. Xue doesn't agree with his niece marrying her current husband." After all, that man's business is just for the surface, if he really marries Xue Sanxin, he will be a parasite. ”

Her thoughts opened up from a new angle, and Cheng Han remembered that when he was in the café, Xue Nanguo said that he was dissatisfied with Xue Sanxin's husband.

"Then, let's invite Xue Sanxin over next, after all, she is now the mistress of this family."

Cheng Han said, put on his gloves, and put the cup that Zhao Xiangsi had just used on the other side into the evidence bag.