My wife has a secret

Chapter 220 The real murderer
"Yes, in order to prevent anyone around her from collaborating with the enemy, my eldest sister specifically ordered outsiders to investigate the case."

When Hou San heard Yang Caiyun say that this was the general's decision, he didn't say anything more. Instead, he asked the busy helpers to continue working and he took the three of them to a remote place.

Although it is a remote place, there are still many people coming and going around, and they are being stared at closely by countless pairs of eyes.

"Please feel free to ask any questions you have. I will answer all your questions."

The strange thing is that although it was Shen Shuangxu who asked to go to the city wall to investigate in person, she showed no desire to ask questions. Instead, she looked around the surrounding environment, her attention attracted by something.

Seeing this, Xu Qing coughed lightly and had to collect information for her.

"From what my little sister said just now, you are a craftsman? A craftsman who has inherited the craftsmanship from generation to generation?"

"Yes, as for craftsmen... our industry can be traced back to Gongzi Yu in the Spring and Autumn Period. He was a well-known master craftsman and was treated as a distinguished guest by many monarchs. Later, a branch of his people settled near Huangling Pass and has been doing this ever since."

When Hou San talked about the history of his school, he became extremely confident and his voice became a little louder.

"The wall of Huangling Pass, which has stood for hundreds of years, was built by my master, and our craftsmen from generation to generation are responsible for its maintenance and reinforcement."

The fact that he was honored as a prince because of his skills in the Spring and Autumn Period shows that the skills inherited by Hou San were extraordinary.

However, Xu Qing also got an important piece of information from his answer, that is, Hou San himself had participated in the maintenance work and was very familiar with the internal structure of the city wall.

"Excuse me, Master Hou, have you ever led anyone to inspect the city wall recently?"

"Of course. In the past ten days, my master and I have walked around the city wall no less than ten times. After the battle started yesterday, I followed the general's order to walk around the city wall. The main purpose was to prevent the Liao army from secretly building tunnels or using other evil schemes."

Xu Qing then asked, "When you were walking around recently, have you ever seen large barrels of things near this wall?"

Xu Qing felt that even if the city wall, which had been meticulously repaired and maintained by successive generations of craftsmen, was blown down by an explosion of considerable magnitude, it would take a lot of force to do so.

Therefore, the other party definitely did not act alone. It must have been a group of people who did a lot of work to stockpile the explosives around the city wall.

"Of course not. If there was, I would have reported it to the general long ago."

When Hou San said this, his eyes moved slightly.

Then, he looked at Xu Qing with some suspicion and asked, "You two, if the criminal who blew up the city wall is caught, what kind of punishment will he receive?"

"My sister has given the order. Execute immediately."

After hearing Yang Caiyun's answer, Hou San uttered an ambiguous "oh" and then asked calmly, "Gentlemen, do you have any other questions? The general framework of the city wall over there has been built, and it still needs to be added with bricks and tiles. I have to watch from the side."

Xu Qing thought carefully about his answer and felt that there was nothing wrong with what Hou San said.

Not only do these craftsmen take charge of the detailed inspections of the city walls, but there are also guards patrolling back and forth. It is unlikely that too much explosives are stockpiled.

That’s strange. How could such a tall and thick city wall be blown down overnight?

Could it be that these explosives appeared out of thin air?

"It's alright, go ahead and do your work."

"Okay." After Hou San finished speaking, he was called away by the craftsmen who had been waiting nearby. While discussing the solidity of the city wall, they walked towards the wall.

At the same time, Yang Caiyun also jumped up to Xu Qing and asked in a cute and childish tone: "Brother-in-law, did you find out anything?"

At her age, she is in the period of hero worship and has always admired her older sister since she was a child.

However, through some contacts in the capital, it was gradually discovered that Xu Qing was not unsuccessful as rumored. Not only did he show amazing literary talent and compose poetry despite the obstruction of the Nie family, he also appeared in various serious cases in the capital several times.

Therefore, Yang Caiyun developed a strong curiosity about Xu Qing. She always felt that her brother-in-law was an extraordinary person and might be playing the pig to eat the tiger.

"No, Hou San's answer is flawless. Or maybe I asked the wrong question."

Xu Qing pinched his chin thoughtfully, confused by the situation before him.

At this moment, Shen Shuangxu, who had not spoken, suddenly interrupted and said, "Your question was not wrong, and it also confirms my thoughts."

"Ok?"

Xu Qing looked at Shen Shuangxu who had been paying attention elsewhere. She had turned her pretty body back and pointed at the house behind.

"At first I was wondering why the thieves chose this section of the city wall. It was not until I arrived at the site that I realized that, including the houses destroyed by the stone bullets, this is the dark side of the entire city wall and is extremely difficult to be discovered by outsiders."

Xu Qing asked: "Even if it's the dark side, it would take a lot of explosives to blow up this section of the wall, right? How did he do it?"

"Generally speaking, blowing up the city wall does require a lot of black powder and accomplices, but there is another way to take shortcuts and achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Xu Qing listened to Shen Shuangxu's weird words and asked incredulously: "If the amount of explosives is not increased, it may not have caused such an exaggerated result."

When passing through the customs, Xu Qing saw the general structure of the city wall from the city gate. Bricks and tiles were stacked one on top of another, and the depth was several meters thick. In terms of hardness, this important fortification was comparable to the concrete in his previous life.

"Someone familiar with the construction of the wall could place black powder at key locations within the wall. Even if the amount is small, it could damage the supporting structure through vibrations, causing it to collapse on its own."

After hearing Shen Shuangxu's explanation, Xu Qing suddenly understood.

He also understood the other party's suspicion at this moment, and suddenly asked: "Could it be that Hou San...wait, that's not right, Hou San looked calm when he answered, without any redundant or lame answers, he doesn't look like the murderer. If the person who did it was not Hou San, then it can only be a master who is familiar with the wall structure."

Yang Caiyun was slightly surprised when she heard this and opened her mouth.

Unexpectedly, the two of them found the direction to solve the case with just simple communication.

You should know that this incident caused a huge uproar in my sister's account, and left many staff members helpless.

"Is... is that so? But Hou San's master is Sun Baiqian, a well-known craftsman here. He is highly respected and trusted by the people. How could he blow up the city wall?"

"now it's right."

Xu Qing said: "It is precisely because of this identity that we can explain why this man was able to deliver the black gunpowder into the city wall safely without being suspected by others. As for the real reason, we can only ask him clearly."

Yang Caiyun blinked and replied, "I'm familiar with the road, just follow me."

(End of this chapter)