An Ying and Xiao Yi followed Master Su to the Ministry of Rites and the Lang Mansion to see the situation. Yun Pan and Guo Xi went to the Qi State Mansion to check.

The summer is scorching, and it is generally unbearable to sit in a carriage, and Lord Su is not interested in riding a horse against the sun.

The three of them walked slowly along the shade of the street.

"Cheng Qi, fifty-two years old, has served as a household servant for five years. It stands to reason that this year is going to move the position. ”

"Cheng Qi has a mean personality and a ruthless heart, and he offends a lot of people in the position of the household servant."

An Ying answered: "Is it possible that someone retaliated and killed someone?" Vendetta? ”

"That's what I find weird. It is Cheng Qi's character, he also knows that he has offended many people, so the security of his own mansion is extremely good, and he himself has practiced martial arts all year round, and one or two ordinary men can't get close to him. ”

"Well, what I'm more concerned about is how Cheng Qi died? What exactly was the cause of death? An Ying said: "Only after the cause of death is determined can it be investigated." We also have to check on Cheng Qi's body. ”

Cheng Qi's mansion is at the end of Yongji Street.

Cheng Qi's wife, Qi Han, was already waiting at the door.

Qi Han is tall and big, and they all say that people should be pretty and wear filial piety, but she is wearing a white filial piety dress like a white door panel standing at the door of Cheng's house.

"Hello Lord Su. On such a hot day, I would like you to come here in person. Qi Han wiped his tears.

"Where, Lord Cheng, the important minister of the country. Now that there is a suspicion of death, it is the duty of our criminal department. How dare you talk about hard work. Master Su saluted and said, "Please Mrs. Cheng take me to see the place where Master Cheng had an accident first." ”

Mrs. Cheng said while leading the way: "Old Cheng has always been in good health. On weekdays, he rests in Qinghui Garden, which is only a hundred steps away from his study, which is convenient. He also rested in Qinghui Garden that day. ”

Passing through the wall of the gate, there is a curved cloister that leads in both directions. Mrs. Cheng introduced: "The east corridor is connected to Qinghui Garden, and the west corridor is connected to the backyard. The two sides are not connected to each other, so they have to go through the corridor in the front yard. ”

"Lao Cheng has always been cautious, and every door we have here is guarded by two mothers-in-law. Every hour, there are guards patrolling. ”

Su Huangzhe nodded and said, "I heard that the guards of your Cheng Mansion are doing a good job before, and now it seems that they are really good." This makes it much easier for us to check. ”

Qinghui Garden is a quiet place to live, with a pond in a row of houses, and a lot of fat koi fish are raised in it. Behind are a few houses hidden in the shade of the trees.

Under the eaves of the main house, there is a plaque with the words "Pixiangtang" written in large letters.

"This is where the old man had an accident. Nothing in it has been touched. It's just some food for the capital Mansion Yin's work to check, but nothing was found. Mrs. Cheng stood at the door and pointed to the row of small servants kneeling under the corridor, "The guards on duty that day are all here, Master Su asked." Xiao Tao, come here. ”

A small servant in a hemp beige shirt came out, "He is the personal attendant of the master, he was at the door that day, and he was the first to find the master." ”

Su Huangzhe walked into the house, there were notes and a few cups on the table, and there was still a lot of uneaten food on the low table on the side. It was a hot summer day, and it was already stinky, attracting a lot of flies, and An Ying couldn't help covering her mouth and nose.

Xiao Tao sobbed quietly and followed behind, without asking Lord Su, he gushed endlessly: "Master Su, our master is a good person, you must find the murderer and avenge him." What coward, using such a means ......."

An Ying couldn't stand his noise, and interrupted and asked, "You can tell me about the events of that day first, the more detailed the better." ”

"Hey. On the night of the second day of the new year, Lord Cheng rested here as usual. ”

"He's here alone?" An Ying asked, pointing to something on the table.

"He's alone." Xiao Tao confirmed: "We adults have good appetites, and we have always eaten and drunk a lot. We adults eat and drink by ourselves. Every day. ”

An Ying was a little surprised, "There are at least three notes here, can you drink so much in one night?" Is it wine? ”

"A pot of plum wine from the front street store, a pot of fruit stuffed by the house itself, and a pot of sweet water made by the house. The big iron here is filled with cold snow balls. I got these chilled things. ”

Su Huangzhe looked at the utensils on the table, "What about these foods?" ”

"This one is filled with lactose real snow, this one is a meat noodle for adults' stomachs, and this one is a steamed horn that adults like."

An Ying smacked his tongue and said, "My God, how much can one person eat so much in one night?" ”

Xiao Tao said: "We adults are practicing families, and eating these things is commonplace." If you don't believe it, ask our hostess, that's how adults eat on weekdays. He was in his own house. ”

"Okay, you go ahead."

"We adults don't usually like to be served, so I put down my things and wait under the porch at the door."

"The lady in the middle called me in once, and he said that the snacks were all sweet, and told me to get some salty food. I ran to the kitchen and asked the cook to put down the meat noodles. It's this bowl, the adults didn't eat a few bites, probably the weather was hot. ”

"Then when you walk away, this place will be unattended?" Su Huangzhe asked.

"Where, I went to the other end of the cloister and called the king's guard to come and guard for me, and I walked away for only half an hour. When I came back, I went into the house to bring noodles to the adults. At that time, the adults were fine, and I remember that the hour was just after the end of the hour. ”

"Then I was on guard at the door, and the lights were not extinguished. Later, when the rooster crowed, I heard a clang, as if something had fallen, so I went to the door and waited for the adult to call me. But there was no movement inside. ”

Su Huangzhe looked at the furnishings in the inner room, "You adults often rest here all night?" ”

"Yes. We adults eat and drink a lot, and we go to the hut a lot. We adults said that we were afraid of affecting our wife, so we often stopped here. And it's close to the study, so it's cheap to come over after the business. ”

"You continued what you just said, and you didn't go in after you heard the bang?"

"Oh, the villain can't enter the house without being summoned by the master, so he waited at the door for a while. There was no movement in it for a long time, and I thought it might be that the old man accidentally touched something while asleep. Then in the second half of the second day, it stands to reason that the old man should get up and practice. ”

I called out a few times at the door, but no one answered. I felt that something was wrong, and called the Wang guard next to me and shouted for a few breaths, and then I felt that something was wrong, so we pushed the door in together. ”

Then we saw the old man lying on the floor of the inner room, and he was clutching his chest, looking very painful. I tried, and there was no snort. ”

The king's guards immediately shouted loudly, and there were six guards in the corridor, and two more came. The lord has a rule that if there is an emergency, one post should be left behind, and all of them must not be withdrawn. I went to the backyard to report to my wife. Madame rushed over while asking someone to find Dr. Chen, who is commonly used in the house. ”