Imperial City Investigative Department

Chapter 319 Strange Murder Case ([-])

Wu Chen thought for a while and asked, "How old is Hao Kui?"

"At the time of the incident, she was 45 years old, Zou's was 43, and Yingniang was 19 years old."

"Ms. Zou is old enough to be a grandmother, but she is in good health! Has Hao Kui and Mrs. Zou's family died? What happened to Hao Kui's shop in the capital? How is the inn business of Yingniang's family doing?"

Shang Gong said:
"I didn't hear that Hao Kui's family died. After the incident, Zou's family was imprisoned in the capital's prison. Hao Kui secretly returned to Kyoto a few days later, trying to bribe his wife to rescue him, but he was also arrested. , He didn’t write how to deal with it in the case files of his shop in the capital. After I took office, I ordered someone to investigate secretly. It should be that Hao Kui passed on to others after he was imprisoned. Their children are all in Kangshui County. This case has nothing to do with them. It had nothing to do with them, so they didn't call them in for questioning. Perhaps it was because Hao Kui didn't want his children to be involved. Until Hao Kui and Mrs. Zou died in prison, it was only the old servant of the Hao family who collected the corpses. Perhaps his children had been here before. Just didn't show up directly."

"When did this couple die in prison? Have you ever seen it?"

"I died before I took over. The jailer said that because the officials were very concerned about this case, they treated the couple carefully, but they still caught the cold."

Wu Chen raised his eyebrows and said, "Everyone died before you took office. How many years have you been in office?"

"Four years, I would have been transferred last year, and the officials trusted me to serve another term." Shang Gong said with a little satisfaction.

Wu Chen nodded and said, "Shangfu Yin did a good job. This case was done ten years ago, but Shangfu Yin was not questioned, which shows that he has worked hard."

"This case is bizarre. Before I was promoted, I wanted to find out. After I took office, the officials met me alone several times because of this case. But I investigated for several years, but there was no progress. Before, I thought that Yang Kun was not capable enough. But it turned out that I was no different.”

Wu Chen waved his hand and said, "It's not the same! There are many things that can be checked when the crime happened. After a few years, if you want to check it again, you may have nowhere to find clues."

Shang Gong said:
"Because of this case, the Governor of Kyoto replaced three people. At the beginning, the government attached great importance to it. There was a lot of rumors among the folks that all the ghosts and monsters came out. There were rumors that there were noses and eyes. Alas, the official family sealed the case file, and when I took office, the official family only asked me to investigate it in secret."

Wu Chen nodded and asked, "Who owns Hao Kui's house now?"

"Who dares to buy it? It is now abandoned."

"The Liu family's inn has been abandoned since it changed hands. What about the Liu family's house?"

"That house was also abandoned. Although the people who died in it said they died of illness, but the people couldn't stand the wild guesses, so it became a haunted house."

"Does the Liu family have any other relatives?"

"This matter is also very strange. The Liu family is from the capital, but I have asked the neighbors and checked the household records. Except for the natal families of the three daughter-in-laws who married, there are no other relatives. I can't figure it out. The old couple of the Liu family No brothers and sisters? How come it looks like it suddenly fell from the sky?"

"What do the neighbors say?"

"The Liu family lived here when the neighbors moved in. I didn't see any relatives walking around, and they didn't ask about it."

Wu Chen thought for a while and said, "I'll go to these places first to see at night, can the case file be sealed in the government office?"

Shang Gong nodded.

"Let's look at the case files during the day and sort out the facts of the case, and go to a few deserted houses at night."

After Wu Chen finished speaking, he stood up, and Shang Gong also stood up and asked, "Why did you go at night? You can see better during the day..."

Song Gu smiled and said, "Maybe it's useless to go to this case during the day."

……

But it's useless to go at night.

After it got dark, Wu Chen braved the cold wind and took Gao Er and Xu Da. Song Gu first went to the inn, then to Hao Kui's house, and finally to Liu's house. Wu Chen didn't let Shang Gong follow him. After all, Shang Gong was getting older, Wu Chen was afraid that he would scare him, and he would be inseparable from the prefect in future investigations.

Several people thought that regardless of whether it was a ghost related to the Hao family or the Liu family, there must be something in this deserted house, but Wu Chen didn't see anything.

After checking the three places and returning home, it was just ugly.

Senior Two and Xu Da also followed back to Wu Chen's home, going back at this time would disturb the rest of the family.

Fortunately, there were many empty rooms at home, so the second year of high school and Xu Da took a rest after washing.

Wu Chen and Song Gu didn't sleep, they sat at the table and analyzed the case.

"...Yingniang's corpse was replaced by an old man. This is the strange part of the case, but what really doesn't make sense is that Yingniang's family members died of illness one after another until they were extinct." Wu Chen took a sip of the hot tea brought by the third child and said. .

Song Gu frowned and asked, "Do you think the replacement of Yingniang's body is not the key to this case?"

Wu Chen said: "I think it's just a cover-up to divert the attention of the investigators. Don't say that ghosts don't have such a big body. Even if they do, Yingniang just died. How capable can a new ghost be?"

"But, no one recognizes that old man!"

"That's right, if my third son dies suddenly, I'm afraid of causing trouble, so I will tell other people that no one is allowed to say that they know the third son. What do you think Shangfu Yin can ask?"

The third child stood aside and muttered unhappily: "Why did I die?"

"You mean...the old man is someone brought by the mistress Zou. It is normal for no one in the capital to recognize him. As long as the person brought by Zou denies it, he can create the illusion that no one knows."

"I'm very puzzled. The mistress brought a group of maids, wives, and servants all the way to the capital. It won't be a short time, right? How could Hao Kui not know about it? Could it be that there is no one in his hometown who is on his side? There must be someone who tipped off the news, right? Regardless of the method, it will be faster than Zou."

"Yes! Mrs. Zou's carriage is not going fast." Song Gu came to his spirits: "It is written in the case file that Mrs. Zou brought two maidservants, two rough envoys, and eight young men's attendants. It seems that one is missing. The steward followed, even if he didn't follow, how could the lord not know about the mistress going out? Coming to the capital is no better than visiting relatives in other places..."

"Isn't this a small flaw? Why didn't the Governor at the time see it? There are only a few lines in the transcript." Wu Chen asked with narrowed eyes.

"You mean..."

"I didn't say anything!" Wu Chen took another sip of tea, "When Yingniang's family saw the maid who had sneaked out, they didn't rush to rescue Yingniang in the house, but went to the government office to report the case first. Mother's father said that he was going to the house and happened to pass by the government office, so he sued first, thinking that it would be more prestigious to go to the house with the servants, so I was thinking, the reason why the maid came out secretly must be because she saw or heard something , but there is no confession from this maid in the entire case file."

(End of this chapter)