Datang: Hiding private money, exposed by Xiao Sizi

Chapter 575 It shouldn’t be like this! His salary!
Perhaps the only useful thing is the murder weapon, the dagger.

And the dagger belonged to the Zhou family.

Therefore, the murder weapon is of no use.

This means they always get nothing.

Now they suddenly heard Shen Lian say that there was physical evidence, how could they not be curious!
Soon, a bailiff came up.

The yamen runner was holding a tray with a gray cloth on it, making it impossible to tell what was inside.

The bailiff strode to the front of the court and bowed to Shen Jing: "Lord Shen."

Shen Jing nodded slightly and said, "Let all colleagues and the people see what the physical evidence is."

The bailiff nodded and then lifted the gray cloth on the tray.

The gray cloth was removed, and everyone discovered that what was on the tray were actually some vase fragments.

These fragments are irregular, some large and some small.

Some of them have blue and white porcelain patterns on them.

Everyone in the mansion, who had vases used as decorations, could tell at a glance that these fragments were from vases.

At the same time, based on the scroll, I understood... these fragments were, without any surprise, the fragments of the vase at the crime scene.

“Is this physical evidence?”

"Can the vase fragments prove anything?"

Everyone was a little confused.

Zhou was equally puzzled.

Han Min couldn't help asking, "Sir Shen, what can this vase fragment prove?"

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Since it is physical evidence, it can naturally prove something."

"As I said before, there is a line of blood between the deceased and the vase. It is obvious that there is something wrong with this blood."

"But the blood line started to appear right next to the vase. If the murderer was standing where the vase was originally, then that would make sense. However, from the fragments of the fallen vase at the scene, we can see that the position of the vase has not changed."

"So, the death of the deceased was somewhat unusual."

As everyone listened to Shen Lian's words, a thoughtful look appeared on their faces.

Shen Lian said: "Since there is something wrong, we need to check it carefully."

“And finally, I discovered these vase fragments!”

Then he said, "Show the fragments to the lords."

After receiving the order, the bailiff showed the broken pieces of the vase to everyone.

Li Shimin also took one from them.

He checked it carefully from top to bottom, then shook his head slightly.

There is nothing special about the vase fragments, they are just normal signs of being broken.

"What is Shen Lian doing?"

Li Shimin was puzzled.

"what?"

At this moment, Fang Xuanling suddenly uttered a light exclamation.

“This fragment…”

Shen Lian heard Fang Xuanling's exclamation, smiled, looked at Fang Xuanling, and said, "Master Fang, did you find anything?"

Fang Xuanling looked at the fragment in his hand and said, "This fragment has some traces of bumps and some of the paint on it has been knocked off."

…………

"is it?"

Chang Sun Wuji asked curiously, "Why is there no problem with mine?"

"mine too!"

"It seems that only the fragment in Lord Fang's hand is special!"

The officials spoke up one after another.

Shen Lian smiled and said, "Coroner, hand the murder weapon, the dagger, to Lord Fang."

The coroner naturally obeyed the order and handed the dagger to Fang Xuanling.

At first, Fang Xuanling didn't quite understand Shen Lian's intention.

Then Shen Lian said, "Master Fang, why don't you use the tip of the dagger to touch the place where the two fragments collide, maybe you will find something."

…………

Fang Xuanling's eyes flashed.

He quickly placed the top of the dagger's handle towards the fragments.

"This……"

Fang Xuanling suddenly widened his eyes and a look of surprise appeared on his face!

"what happened?"

Someone immediately asked curiously.

Fang Xuanling's face was full of surprise. He said, "Look, the tip of the dagger just... fits perfectly with the point where the vase fragments collided!"

"What!?"

Changsun Wuji looked over quickly.

"It really matches. It's exactly the same!"

His words shocked everyone.

“How can it be completely consistent?”

"This...what on earth is going on?"

The crowd's exclamations and confusion instantly merged into one.

At this time, Fang Xuanling looked at the scene on the scroll, and then looked at the vase fragments that Shen Lian had specially found.

Suddenly, he didn't know what he thought of, and his eyes widened!

"Could it be!?"

Fang Xuanling showed surprise on his face.

His eyes widened and he looked straight at Shen Lian.

Seeing this, Shen Lian smiled and said, "It seems that Lord Fang has thought of it."

Fang Xuanling's expression changed slightly, and he asked, "How could this happen? Why did he do this?"

Fang Xuanling was surprised.

As for the others, listening to the conversation between Fang Xuanling and Shen Lian at this moment, they felt that their conversation seemed to be encrypted.

They could clearly understand every word they said.

But when those words were put together, they didn't understand anything at all.

Zhang Sun Wuji couldn't help but wonder, "Master Fang, what are you and Master Shen talking about? What did you find out?"

Han Min couldn't help but say, "Yes, Master Fang, please stop keeping us in suspense. What on earth is going on?"

The other officials also looked at Fang Xuanling and Shen Lian at this moment, and they also had puzzled expressions on their faces.

Fang Xuanling took a deep breath and said without keeping anyone in suspense: "You should have seen that the top of the dagger's handle and the area where the vase fragments collided are completely aligned."

"What does this mean?"

"This means that at the time of the crime, the tip of the dagger was resting right here!"

"Combined with the bloodstains at the scene, we can make the judgment..."

Fang Xuanling said: "If nothing unexpected happened, Zhou Qin should have put the dagger against the vase, and then he rushed forward with all his strength, and the dagger pierced his heart directly."

“So, the vase leaves this mark.”

"Then, in order to prevent others from discovering what he had done, Zhou Qin deliberately smashed the vase before he died. He thought that if the vase was broken into countless pieces, no one would discover what he had done."

"But he didn't expect that Lord Shen was very observant and was the best at solving difficult cases... This decisive evidence happened to be discovered by Lord Shen!"

Fang Xuanling's words were like a bolt from the blue.

It made everyone confused.

Changsun Wuji widened his eyes.

Wei Zheng looked surprised.

Even Li Shimin raised his eyebrows. Han Min couldn't help but said, "Master Fang, please wait a moment. I don't quite understand what you are saying."

"Why do you say that... Zhou Qin, he committed suicide!"

At this time, Shen Lian's voice slowly rang out, and he said calmly: "It's not like, it's true! Zhou Qin committed suicide!"

“The inexplicable bloodstains at the scene and the traces of vase fragments are enough to prove it all.

Han Min was stunned.

He had been investigating the case for so many days, trying every possible way to find the murderer, but he never expected that Zhou Qin actually committed suicide!
Unexpectedly, the murderer was Zhou Qin himself!
This... this is too surprising.

Han Min was confused, and everyone else had similar thoughts.

"impossible!"

At this moment, a shrill voice suddenly rang out.

Zhou, with a grim expression on her face, suddenly stood up.

Her whole body was shaking, and she looked full of disbelief.

She said, "It's fake, everything you said is fake! How could my son commit suicide? You must have deliberately framed my son in order to exonerate Bai Yanguan!"

"My son, you are so pitiful!"

"You died, and they falsely accused you of suicide!"

Zhou rushed to Zhou Qin's body, crying as she spoke.

She didn't care about the evidence.

Deep down in her heart, she was certain that Bai Yanguan was the murderer.

Even if Shen Lian put the evidence in front of her, she pretended not to see it.

Shen Lian looked at Zhou's unreasonable behavior, sighed, and said, "Do you know why your son did this?"

Zhou was dressed gorgeously, with golden earrings swaying in her ears. She looked at Shen Lian with red eyes and said, "How should I know? You deliberately helped Bai Yanguan to get away with the crime. You can say whatever you want!"

Shen Lian shook his head and said, "The reason your son did this is because of you."

"what?"

Zhou was stunned.

She subconsciously looked at Shen Lian.

The others also looked at Shen Lian in confusion.

Zhou Qin committed suicide, was it because of Zhou?

This...why did Shen Lian say this?
Everyone was confused.

Then, they heard Shen Lian say, "Zhou, do you like precious jewelry? Do you live a very luxurious life? Do you not tolerate hardship at all?"

Zhou was stunned for a moment, and asked in confusion: "What does this...what does this have to do with my son's death?"

Shen Lian continued: "Then do you know...how much is your son's salary?"

"Do you know whether his salary can satisfy your daily extravagant life?"

Shen Lian asked one question after another, which stumped Zhou.

Zhou stood there, staring at Shen Lian in a daze, thinking about Shen Lian's questions. She opened her mouth, but for a long time, no words came out.

she does not know!

That’s right, she didn’t know how much Zhou Qin’s salary was!

She also didn't know whether Zhou Qin's salary could satisfy her extravagant lifestyle!

She was born into a poor family and suffered from having no money when she was young and was laughed at by many people.

Therefore, as her son became a high-ranking official in the court, her heart suddenly swelled, and she tried her best to add what she had lacked before.

When she wears clothes, she only wears expensive and gorgeous clothes. She won't even look at them if the fabric is not good.

She wears gold and silver, and never takes off her jade pendants and jade rings.

She hated her previous life so much that she tried her best to let everyone know that she was no longer the same person.

I have a great and filial son.

Let yourself live a good life!
All Zhou has done all along is to show off in front of others.

But she never thought about whether her son's salary could support her squandering.

She didn't think about these things because she felt that her son was such a high-ranking official and satisfying his own needs was nothing at all.

This is what she has always thought subconsciously.

She never thought there was anything wrong with it.

But at this moment, Shen Lian suddenly asked her these questions.

This made her suddenly realize that maybe she was wrong?

As soon as this thought came to her mind, Zhou felt inexplicably nervous.

She didn't know how to answer.

She was afraid that she might say the wrong thing and affect her dead son.

Zhou, who was usually very aggressive, suddenly remained silent.

At this moment, many people noticed that something was wrong.

Han Min looked at Zhou suspiciously. He knew that Shen Lian had checked Zhou's accounts and had asked him to do so.

He hadn't thought much about it before.

But now, seeing Zhou's reaction, Han Min understood a little.

As for Fang Xuanling, Zhangsun Wuji and others, they were so smart that they must have noticed the problem earlier.

Seeing that Zhou didn't say anything, Shen Lian said, "You don't say anything, do you not know, or do you not want to say it?"

Zhou shook her head and still said nothing.

Shen Lian said: "Since you don't want to say it, then I will say it."

He said, "Han Min."

Jingzhao Yin Han Min quickly stood up and said, "Lord Shen."

"Have you checked the account book I asked you to check?"

Han Min quickly said, "It has been checked."

As he spoke, he took out an account book from his pocket.

He said: "This is the expenditure of the Zhou Mansion, most of which is spent by Old Madam Zhou."

Zhou's eyes widened when she heard this: "You secretly checked our accounts!"

Han Min smiled and said, "We are also trying to solve the case as quickly as possible. It's all for your son's case. Please forgive me, Madam Zhou."

Shen Lian asked: "How is the expenditure of the Zhou Mansion?"

Han Min said: "The monthly expenditure of the Zhou Mansion is about 300 strings of cash. The daily expenditure, including the salaries of servants, is about 20 strings of cash. The rest of the expenditure is to buy gold, silver, clothes and other precious items for the old lady."

As soon as these words were spoken, Fang Xuanling and others looked unhappy.

Wei Zheng couldn't help but say: "Three hundred strings of cash, that's a lot!"

"Mrs. Zhou alone took 280 strings of cash? This... Sir Han, is this account book of yours real?"

It was not Wei Zheng who was shocked, but the fact that the monthly expenses of his Wei Mansion were less than 10,000 strings of cash.

The gap between them is really too big.

Han Min said, "Master Wei, don't worry. This account book comes from the Zhou Mansion. I think Madam Zhou should be clear about her own expenses."

Wei Zheng looked at Zhou and said, "Madam Zhou, is this the case?"

Zhou pursed her lips and said nothing.

Her acquiescence has proved everything.

Wei Zheng frowned.

Shen Lian said, "Mr. Changsun, the Minister of Personnel, may I ask how much Zhou Qin's monthly salary is?"

As the Minister of Personnel, Changsun Wuji was naturally aware of the salaries of officials.

He glanced at Zhou and immediately said, "The Tang Dynasty is becoming more and more powerful and prosperous. Your Majesty recently raised the salaries of all officials. According to Zhou Qin's official position, his monthly salary is 10 strings of cash per month."

Ten strings of cash a month!

But Zhou's monthly expenditure is 280 strings of cash!
At this moment, everyone understood.

Something is wrong!
Something is wrong!
How could Zhou Qin's salary possibly be enough to cover Zhou's expenses?
Something is wrong!
How could Zhou Qin's salary possibly be enough to cover Zhou's expenses?