Jiaochu

Chapter 121 New Year’s Eve Palace Banquet ([-])

When he saw the craftsman in a dark cell, the man's disheveled and scarred appearance did not scare Shen Ning, who was waving a folding fan. He first observed the craftsman, and the eyes hidden behind the hair were also looking at him. His eyelids were half drooped, showing weakness and fatigue after torture.

After walking around casually for a few steps in front of the craftsman, Shen Ning walked to a chair nearby and sat down, crossed her legs, put away the folding fan and tapped her fingers twice, not in a hurry to ask questions.

After a brief silence, Shen Ning asked casually, "Do you know who I am."

The craftsman moved his head slightly and looked in the direction of Shen Ning, and replied in a dry and low voice: "I have seen you before. You are the son of the Duke of Guo. Others call you Uncle Guo." At this point, he He gasped and laughed twice, "They say that the young uncle is a romantic and uninhibited man who only loves beauties. I don't think that's necessarily the case."

Shen Ning smiled and said, "Since you know who I am, why are you not afraid at all? I heard that you were under the orders of my old housekeeper. Tell me, how did my old housekeeper bribe you?"

The craftsman didn't say anything. After a while, he asked, "Is your housekeeper very old?"

"How come you are not old? You are so old that your teeth are falling out." Shen Ning said with a joking tone.

The craftsman was silent again and said: "The person who came to me was a middle-aged man. He said he was the housekeeper of the Duke's Mansion. If I don't do what he said, my wife will die."

"You also killed people?" Shen Ning asked.

The craftsman shook his head slowly, his movements seemed a bit difficult, "He asked me to deceive the person. I waited outside. When I entered, the person was already dead. He said that as long as I didn't say anything, the government would find him. If you don’t see the corpse, you won’t have any doubts on my head.”

Shen Ning tapped the folding fan twice, thought for a moment, and asked, "What does that person look like?"

The craftsman shook his head again, "He was wearing a mask on his face. I only knew he was a man. His voice was not too young, he looked about 40 or [-] years old." At this point, he paused and seemed to remember something. "His right leg seems to have been injured. Although I am not a doctor, the slightest difference cannot escape my eyes. When he walks, his left foot is heavier and his right foot is lighter. It is just a subtle difference that outsiders cannot tell."

"Is there anything else?" Shen Ning asked.

The craftsman thought for a few seconds and said: "I feel that he should be a housekeeper. I have also seen some housekeepers from wealthy families. That person talks and walks like a housekeeper." He raised his head with difficulty and looked at Shen Ning, "I'm dead It’s not a pity, but my wife is innocent. If he knew that I confessed him, he would definitely not let her go. Please save her.”

Shen Ning looked at Commander Wu. Commander Wu said that his wife had been guarded. The craftsman begged Shen Ning to let him see his wife for the last time. He bought a gift for his wife and put it under the pillow. It was originally planned to be her birthday. He gave it to her, with a hairpin inside, hoping to put it on his wife.Shen Ning said he would consider it, and after asking a few more questions, the craftsman had no new clues to provide, so he and Commander Wu left the cell.

"This man is quite interesting. Being a craftsman is really humiliating." Shen Ning said, shaking the folding fan.

Commander Wu said: "My subordinates have checked his identity. There is nothing suspicious for the time being. He came to the capital ten years ago and got married here two years later."

Shen Ning said: "Du Dao husband and wife are birds of the same forest. They fly separately when disaster strikes. He has great affection for his wife. Why don't we be adults?" Commander Wu said businesslikely: "I have to ask the emperor for instructions on this matter."

Shen Ning didn't say anything more. He walked through the deserted and narrow corridor while waving the folding fan, stepped through the heavy iron door and went outside. The sunshine in front of him shone warmly from the top of his head. He waved the folding fan and said that the beautiful lady had an appointment. He left first with a graceful step.

After Commander Wu went to ask Ye Lanchen for instructions, he had someone bring the craftsman's wife into the Yeting Division in the afternoon. Commander Wu gave them a quarter of an hour to say goodbye, just in case he was watching from the side.

The craftsman's wife was a little girl, and she had never seen such a battle. She just cried, and her eyes were so red and swollen that they turned into walnuts. After the craftsman persuaded her not to cry, he opened the brocade box in her hand and took out the phoenix head from it. The hairpin, his hand that was trembling slightly due to weakness, gently stroked the hairpin's head, and then slowly inserted the hairpin into the black silk hair. He smiled and said it looked good. His wife started crying again. He sighed softly and explained. Regarding the funeral, the money he had saved from working over the years was enough for her to live the rest of her life without worries. If she met the right person, she would marry him. This made his wife cry even harder.

A quarter of an hour later, Commander Wu asked someone to take the craftsman's wife out.After the craftsman said thank you to Commander Wu, he leaned against the wall and waited calmly for death.Commander Wu glanced at him and walked out of the cell.

The setting sun in the evening was as red as blood, which seemed to indicate an ominous atmosphere.

Commander Wu hurried through the deserted and narrow corridor with an unusually solemn expression. After entering the cell, he only saw the body of the craftsman slumped against the wall. He stretched out his hand to explore his neck, which was already a little cold.

After an autopsy, the craftsman committed suicide by taking poison.

Commander Wu immediately thought of the crested hairpin and couldn't help but feel annoyed that he had been tricked.When he left the palace to look for someone, he met a guard on the way and reported that the craftsman's wife had committed suicide.After Commander Wu passed by, another subordinate led him into the house. The craftsman's wife was neatly dressed and lying on the bed. She wore the crested hairpin on her head and closed her eyes as if she was asleep. If she didn't have that A trace of red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

After inspecting the crested hairpin, Commander Wu found a mechanism at the head of the hairpin, which could hold a poison the size of a mung bean. The craftsman touched the head of the hairpin and probably took away the poison at that time.

Commander Wu felt deeply guilty and couldn't get up from his knees in front of Ye Lanchen. He must be punished and his salary was deducted for three months.

In the next few days, Commander Wu asked people to secretly investigate the housekeepers in the capital. They first investigated the housekeepers in terms of age and height, focusing on those from well-known and wealthy families. After identifying a few people who met the requirements, they dug in detail. Based on the experiences and backgrounds of several people, the target was finally focused on one of them. This person once went to Jiangnan for shopping. On the way back, he encountered a gangster and had a leg cut. It was usually invisible, but on rainy days his leg would be cut. It hurts, and I have some difficulty walking, especially on my right leg.

And this person is no one else, but the housekeeper of Prime Minister Zhou's house.

Ye Lanchen planned to hand over the matter to Long Yingwei for investigation, and then summoned Yanjiang into the palace.

In the evening, two Longying guards left the capital in civilian clothes among the people leaving the city.

(End of this chapter)