Zhang Wenxin didn't intend to entangle with her, so he walked over and lifted Mama Zou's foot slightly, making the wear on the heel of the shoe more conspicuous: "Everyone, please see, in this position, you don't need to walk at all." If it wasn't dragged from somewhere else, why was it so badly worn? If you want to know how people are killed, you don't necessarily have to kill people with your own hands. A little clue is enough. ”

The mud on the soles of Zou Ma's shoes has been washed away by water, and the fabric on the mille-feuille soles is slightly green, which should be the color of moss. Zhang Wenxin raised his eyes and glanced at the lake, the water was warm in late spring, and there was a thin layer of moss on the lakeside, but Zou Ma was dead when she came, and she shouldn't have stepped on these mosses, and the traces on the soles of her shoes were a little too deep......

"You ......"

Mrs. Pang's face was pale, and even the hand pointing at Zhang Wenxin trembled: "Mama Zou has been loyal all her life and has worked hard, how could anyone assassinate her?" You offended her old man's corpse, and you clearly wanted to exonerate yourself! You are not afraid that God has eyes and let the ghost of his old man find you for his life! ”

Murong Xi sneered: "It's true that Mama Zou went to Qingfeng Ju before she died, she was loyal to her stepmother, and everyone understands how she treats other people in the house." I don't mean to discredit her old man, but my stepmother doesn't need to be overly golden.

Mama Zou was very rude to her wife that day, but I just reminded her to pay attention to the number of master and servant. For this sentence, it will never be thrown into the lake. What's more, Madame has found evidence that Zou Ma was killed elsewhere, and before the stepmother spews blood, she should open her eyes and take a look! ”

The corpse had been soaked in the water for too long, and it had already slightly revealed its defeat, and some fishy smell was emitting, and it should have been dead for three or four days. Brushing away the loose hair, it can be seen that there is a bruise on the left sideburns, and the blood stains on the wound have been completely washed away by the water, revealing slightly rotten flesh and a little white bone.

Zhang Wenxin took a handkerchief to wipe his hands and stood up: "Human life is at stake, and hastily doing things is the biggest offense." What's more, even if Mama Zou asks for her life, she will only go to the real murderer, and she will not come to me. The wound between her sideburns hit the temple, a fatal wound, and as for how it was formed, it had to be examined carefully. ”

"What? Do you want to examine it carefully? ”

Mrs. Pang raised her eyes and glanced around, and everywhere she looked, she saw that everyone under the maid was dodging, and no one was willing to step forward to speak for her. Mrs. Pang breathed a sigh of relief in her chest: "You are clearly a personal vendetta of the communiqué!" Mama Zou is a powerful person by my side, you see that she is not used to it, so I wait for an opportunity to take revenge on her old man's corpse......"

Out of thin air, he shouted softly: "Okay, crying and crying, like something!" ”

Behind her, Old Madam Murong let the two maids hold her arms and slowly walked over.

Zhang Wenxin's eyes lit up and stepped forward: "Grandma? Why did your old man get here? ”

The old lady stretched out a hand, let Zhang Wenxin come closer, took her hand and said, "I heard shouting early in the morning, can I come and take a look." ”

Mrs. Pang squeezed out two tears and stood in front of the old lady: "Mother-in-law, you have to make the decision for your daughter-in-law!" ”

The old lady was sensible, and sighed: "Life and death are fate, people die in our mansion, and we can't let her go in vain." After that, you can arrange it thickly. As for the rest of the ......"

Mrs. Pang said again: "Mama Zou, she has been with me for most of her life, and she has no merit and hard work, I really can't bear that after her death, her body will not be at peace......"

The old lady turned to look at Zhang Wenxin: "Wenxin, what do you say?" ”

"Grandma, hiding is not a long-term solution. It's better to figure things out in a timely manner than to be confused and everyone is suspicious of each other. Zou's mother should not want to let her cause of death become an unsolved case in the house. ”

The old lady nodded heavily, glanced at her approvingly, and said, "Not bad." This matter will be handed over to the conscience to investigate, hoping to find out as soon as possible and the truth will be revealed. ”

"Mother-in-law......

Mrs. Pang suddenly saluted: "Mother-in-law, daughter-in-law is not trying to obstruct the truth from coming out, but just ...... This made the young lady come to check, and it seemed a little ...... Just now she said that she would have to perform an autopsy...... Mother-in-law, this doesn't seem to be in order......"

Mrs. Pang's worries are not unreasonable, because whoever investigates this case is equivalent to mastering a trump card, and how this trump card is played and who it points to depends on the mind of the investigator. God knows what kind of outcome they'll find out.

But in fact, Zhang Wenxin doesn't have as many complicated thoughts as hers, she just wants to find out the truth. I never thought of using Zou Ma's death to frame and deal with anyone.

The old lady thought about Mrs. Pang's words, and felt that what she said seemed to have some truth, so she took Zhang Wenxin's hand and said, "Child, this autopsy ...... It's no joke. You...... You're not afraid? ”

Zhang Wenxin said obediently: "Don't do bad things, don't be afraid of ghosts knocking on the door." Grandma, I'm not afraid. ”

"It's good if you're not afraid."

After caring for Zhang Wenxin, the old lady said to Mrs. Pang again: "If this case is not allowed to be investigated, can there be a suitable candidate for the daughter-in-law?" ”

"This ......"

Mrs. Pang's face was difficult, if she wanted to say the candidate, her nephew was extremely suitable, but in this back house, let men with foreign surnames come and go at will, I am afraid that it will be even worse for etiquette.

"If not, let your conscience check it."

The old lady slapped the board neatly, and after a few more words, she let the maid help her back to her residence.

Mrs. Pang ignored her several times, but Zhang Wenxin still asked all the questions that should be asked.

Zou's mother took leave three days ago, saying that she was going back to the countryside for another trip, so she didn't see her in the past few days, and Mrs. Pang didn't look around. Before leaving, Mrs. Pang rewarded Zou Ma with a few pieces of material and a little broken silver. Now the silver is still in Zou's mother's personal purse, but the fabric doesn't know where it went.

There are a lot of empty houses in the Hou Mansion, and the housekeeper Fu Bo helped pick a shady one in the back, temporarily arranged it into a mourning hall, and carried Zou Ma's body into it and placed it properly.

Zhang Wenxin asked for a brush and took off a bit of sediment from the wound on Zou Ma's sideburns, and compared the two, he found that it was the sediment at the bottom of the lake in the back garden. This is tantamount to not providing any clues about the murder weapon, or the original crime scene.

The wound was then peeled open to remove a small amount of fine stone chips where it was attached to the bone. There are many kinds of rockeries and strange stones in the house, and there are more than a dozen kinds of floor tiles alone, if there are no other clues, they can only be compared one by one.

Zhang Wenxin put this clue back, and went around the garden to see if there was anything missing by the lake.

The people in the garden had dispersed, and at this time it seemed empty, except for a few elderly gardeners pruning flowers and trees in the distance, and their figures disappeared from time to time.

The two of them walked slowly along the lake, the dew was very heavy in the morning, and now it was all dry, and the bright sun was shining on their bodies, and they were slightly warm. Zhang Wenxin took off his coat, put it on his shoulders, and rolled up his sleeves high, revealing a piece of his wrist that was as bright as jade.

There was a sudden darkness in front of her, but it was Murong Xi who unfolded the folding fan and covered the top of her head.

Zhang Wenxin thanked him, his eyes widened, and searched all the way into the grass. Except for the place where Zou's mother's body was found to be trampled on a little badly, everything else remained the same.

"Someone burned paper here."

Brushing aside a clump of grass, Zhang Wenxin leaned over and pinched a little paper ash, and twisted it with his fingers: "It was wet with dew, it should have been burned last night." ”

Murong Xi also squatted down beside her and unfolded a piece of rice paper for her to sample: "Why not the night before?" ”

Zhang Wenxin was happy to show off, and said exaggeratedly: "The dew has been heavy in the past two days, and if it had been burned the night before, the paper ashes would have completely slipped off the blades of grass and soaked into the ground." Look at it again......"

There are a few broken blades of grass near the paper ash, and the broken stubble is very subtle and not very obvious. After a night of growth, some have recovered.

Zhang Wenxin followed these subtle traces, walked out of the grass on the shore, stood on the gravel path, pointed to the place where the paper ash was found, and said: "Where is it not easy to go, I just ran here to burn the paper, this should be the place where the corpse is thrown." It's a pity that not much was left behind......"

Speaking of this, she suddenly saw that there were wisps of flowers and trees behind Murong Xi, and she hurriedly stepped forward, took off the cotton thread with a small piece of cloth, and said, "The willows are dark and the flowers are bright, and there is one more clue." ”

Murong Xi glanced at it and saw that the cloth was black and less than the size of a fingernail, so he said, "This is not the clothes on Mama Zou's body. ”

"Of course it's not hers, I've seen all her clothes, it's not this material, it's not this color, there's no holes. It could have been on the murderer. ”

Zhang Wenxin set up a pergola in his hand, looked back and forth, and found that this path was quite remote. Further on, there is a hill made of soil, and when you go back, it is verdant with flowers and trees, turning a thousand times.

Walking down the road, you will find that there are several forks in the middle, which are connected to a large stone road or lead to other places, and it is very easy to hide and hide, whether you are throwing corpses or stealing fun, this path is the best choice. If you add the dark shadows at night, it is even more wonderful.

There is only one gate in the garden, and no one enters or leaves after dark, and it is not guarded at night. Not far from after going out, there is a miscellaneous courtyard, where some rough maids who do chores live. Farther away is the room, and after the room, it is the back door.

Zou Ma usually goes out of the house through the back door. Naturally, this time, the steward at the back door did not see Mama Zou leaving the house.

And Mama Zou's personality, just as she saw, was almost overbearing in the mansion by virtue of being Mrs. Pang's nurse, and she didn't pay attention to Murong Xi, the eldest son, and was even more unscrupulous to the maids who had no master to protect her in the courtyard.

Thirty percent of the silver that Mrs. Pang gave to the maids in the miscellaneous courtyard every month went into Zou's mother's purse. That's not all, the clothes and pants of Zou's mother's children and grandchildren in the countryside are all assigned to these little maids. The maids dared not speak out, so they had to light the lamp and boil wax at night, and use her as a cow and a horse.

Zhang Wenxin remembered that before Mama Zou left, Mrs. Pang had rewarded a few pieces of material, and she understood it. This Zou Ma probably wants to ask someone to make clothes for her, she must have come to the miscellaneous courtyard.

The maids are on duty everywhere during the day, and they generally don't see anyone in the courtyard during the day.

Didn't Zou's mother come during the day, and there happened to be no one in the yard, so she went elsewhere?

The shade of the trees in the courtyard was thick, and it was only dusk, and it was already dark. Zhang Wenxin was thoughtful, walked out, and when he didn't pay attention to the slipping of his feet, the person leaned to the side.