Dali Temple has his Lord Luo

Chapter 148 Preliminary Investigation
Qin Zhao understood what Luo Ning meant and thought for a moment:

"If it is a broken window, the murderer must be very agile and cannot be fatter than me, otherwise the window will not fit in. He should not be tall, but..."

Qin Zhao was a little hesitant because he also discovered a problem that Luo Ning didn't understand:
"I see that the window bolt is on the inside, and the window opens from the inside out. Mr. Luo, it doesn't make sense to break the window and get in!"

Luo Ning looked at the second floor. Qin Zhao and himself thought that it was true. Thinking of the search results just now, Luo Ning asked Mrs. Zhou:
"Mrs. Zhou, how tall is Zhou Dabao?"

Old Mrs. Zhou looked at Qin Zhao, compared, and reached to Qin Zhao's shoulders:

"Sir, Dabao is very thin, much thinner than this master!"

This is consistent with the fact that the murderer was trying on Zhou Dabao's clothes at the time. The two men must have been of similar shape.

Combined with Qin Zhao's judgment just now, Luo Ning was a little relieved, and through the bloody clothes he found, he should be able to roughly determine the murderer's figure.

Luo Ning and Qin Zhao walked to the private school next to them.

Luo Ning asked Mrs. Zhou:
"How many children are there in the private school on a normal day?"

"20 people, ranging in age, the oldest is 15 years old and the youngest is seven years old!"

The private school is simple and clean, with neatly arranged stone tables and mats placed under each table.

In Zhou Bing's place, there are many books and transcribed poetry passages, which must be Zhou Bing's teaching notes.

Through the setting up of the private school, it can be seen that Zhou Bing is very careful. Who would such a person make enemies with and cause death?

Luo Ning asked Mrs. Zhou again:
"Mrs. Zhou, besides teaching, what else does Zhou Bing like to do on weekdays?"

"I don't have any special hobbies, just reading. Zhou Dabao was influenced by him and also likes to read."

Luo Ning thought about the books in Zhou Dabao's room, which indeed read more than the average child.

Suddenly Luo Ning thought of those bloody books again. The murderer had also read those books. Could it be that the murderer also loved reading?

This realization surprised Luo Ning.

"Where are the people Zhou Bing hangs out with on weekdays? Who are his closest friends?"

"Alas, Zhou Bing is a bit aloof. Since he gave up the imperial examination, he has cut off contact with those scholars. The ones he has the most contact with on weekdays are children. After school, he only reads books and has no contact with them!"

Besides Zhou Bing, there is Mrs. Zhou Bing.

"Where is Mrs. Zhou? Is there anything she can conflict with others?"

"You are joking, adults. My daughter-in-law has a very docile personality. She usually does housework and doesn't think she has anything to do with anyone. The people she has the most contact with are the neighbors!"

This idea is also blocked.

So why did the murderer kill Zhou Bing?And the method is so cruel?

According to Mrs. Zhou's confession, Zhou Bing's family has a simple life and clean social relations. Where can he make others hate him so much?

Not only killing, but also dismembering the corpse?

Back at Dali Temple, Luo Ning still frowned. She and Qin Zhao explained everything at the crime scene in detail, as well as her thoughts and confusion.

Qin Zhao was also shocked and puzzled that the murderer stayed in the room and tried on Zhou Dabao's clothes.

Luo Ning took out his pen and ink and wrote down the current direction:

There are two key issues to overcome now:

First, how did the murderer enter Zhou Bing's house!

Second, Zhou Bing’s family has simple social relations. In which direction should we investigate the scope of the murderer?
The directors of Dali Temple returned to Dali Temple one after another after investigation.

Yao Huan and Meng Xiao were the first to return, and the scope of their investigation was the people near Zhou Bing's house.

Zhou Bing's house is close to the west of the city, not far from the city gate in the west of the city, which is a mountain peak from the Southwest Mountains, so the west gate is a little more desolate than other city entrances.

There is a large piece of wasteland behind this residential house, and the residential houses are relatively concentrated. Everyone lives here all year round, and they are very familiar with each other.

Aunt Zhang, who reported the case today, can be said to have watched Zhou Bing grow up. Except for the two houses on the side closest to the city gate that are rented houses, the other houses are occupied by old neighbors who have lived there for decades.

Aunt Zhang was quick to talk and had never seen the scene of the crime, so she was still immersed in the tension of reporting the crime and curiosity about the case.

She was very familiar with Zhou Bing’s family. Meng Xiao recorded her evaluation of Zhou Bing like this:
He is very knowledgeable, has a bad temper, and is occasionally irritable, but he is very patient with his children. This is consistent with the evaluation of him by people around him.

Zhou Bing's family is considered a learned person in this area. He sometimes helps and sometimes shirks his neighbors' requests for help in writing letters and copywriting, and is quite emotional.

Zhou Bing and his wife have a good relationship. Yang Li is gentle, but she doesn't like to socialize with others. She focuses all her energy on her private school and her two children.

Neighbors in the past ten years, I have never seen Yang Li blushing with anyone, or having complicated interpersonal relationships.

The same goes for Zhou Bing. Aunt Zhang can't think of anyone he could have a grudge with, or any random people coming in and out of the house.

The couple lived a simple life, consistent with what Mrs. Zhou described.

Meng Xiao and Yao Huan traveled all over South [-]nd Road, and most of them had the same opinion on Zhou Bingjia. During this process, Luo Ning found three clues:

First, two days before the incident, a neighbor witnessed someone wandering near Zhou Bing’s house.

But as for what this person looked like, what he wore, or what he did, the neighbors could not remember anything.

Second, after noon yesterday, a neighbor saw Zhou Bing arguing with someone in front of the private school. However, the content of the dispute and what the other party looked like were completely unclear.

Third, Zhou Dabao is 13 years old. He studies in Zhou Bing's private school on weekdays, but his personality is different from that of Zhou Bing and his wife. He likes to socialize with people and has many friends.

Thinking of the wide open window in Zhou Dabao's room, and my doubts about whether the murderer entered through the window, could it be that Zhou Dabao let the murderer in?

This also explains why the murderer can enter even if the window is bolted inside.

But what makes no sense is that Zhou Dabao was strangled to death in his sleep. How could he open the window in his sleep?

Unreasonable!

After Qin Zhao heard this, he also thought of this:

"Could it be that Zhou Dabao let the murderer in? What is he going to do? Does he know the murderer's intention?"

Several questions made several people even more anxious.

Wei Yan and Song Zhuer then returned, and they visited Zhou Dabao's students.

Luo Ning originally asked them to investigate this aspect because:

Although there are only twenty children in the private school, there are twenty families behind the twenty people, which will involve countless social relationships.

There were twenty students, mostly children from neighbors, and a few children from other urban areas. Because the addresses were clear, Wei Yan and Zhu Er quickly brought back the information of the 20 students.

Their message is this:
Zhou Bing is very good at teaching children. The children like him very much. Occasionally he loses his temper in private school and the children are a little scared. At other times, Zhou Bing is very good.

Allowing children to study in private schools not only means that the family has some money, but also parents have hopes for their children to become successful.

Children who study will eventually take the imperial examination, so their parents are very polite to Zhou Bing.

Throughout the interview, we can see that parents trust Zhou Bing and that there is nothing wrong with Zhou Bing’s character.

(End of this chapter)