conspiracy crime 2

Chapter 20
criminal investigation dossier
(positive volume)
Name of the case: Murder in an Ancient Temple in Qingyang County Magistrate
Case Number: None
Name of suspect: XXX
Time of Occurrence: The first year of Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty
Source: "Qingyang County Chronicles"

Note: When I was writing the paper "Tracing the Origin of Public Security System in Past Dynasties of Qingyang", I consulted "Qingyang County Chronicles", and found that Qingyang County is located on the bank of the Yangtze River, and it was under the jurisdiction of Jingnan Prefecture in history. Qingyang City inherited Wushan Clouds and rains lead to white clouds and yellow cranes, strangling the key points of Jingchu, gathering the great achievements of Hunan and Hubei, mixed places in five directions, mixed with fish and dragons, there have always been many strange things and strange cases, such as this article "Love Sea Hate to Kill" and "Death Row" ( See the third season of "Criminal Investigation Files" for details), "The Killing in the Sea of ​​Injustice" (see the fourth season of "Criminal Investigation Files" for details), etc. Readers, please listen to me slowly.

1
"At three o'clock tonight, Mei Ruofeng will die in Minghuang Temple on Jiangjun Mountain."

This sentence is written on a piece of paper two fingers wide.

The note was nailed to a small table in the criminal room of the county government with a gleaming dagger.

Sitting at the small table were two people, both wearing flat-topped scarves, soap-colored collared shirts, and long swords hanging from their waists, dressed as official servants.

On the left is an older man with thick eyebrows, big eyes and a mighty appearance. His surname is Sima again, and his single name has the word "hate".

The man on the right is about twenty years old, with a handsome face and a heroic expression. He is Sima Hen's right-hand man and head catcher Wu Guo.

The two of them stared at the murderous note on the table, their brows were knotted, their faces sank like water, and they were speechless for a long time.

As soon as the two of them arrived at the criminal room of the county government this morning, this strange note was already waiting for them here. No one knew who did it, and no one knew when this note was nailed here of.

What they saw was just a piece of paper, a dagger, and a line of writing that was as cold and murderous as a dagger.

The two of them sat there with dignified faces, staring at the note closely, as if they were trying to find clues between the lines to find the perpetrator who claimed his life.

But no, two pairs of eyes stared at the note for a long time, the note was still a note, the words were still words, there was not even a clue.

The two looked at each other speechlessly, but there was a shadow in their eyes.

Soon, there was the sound of chaotic footsteps at the door, and the police and tolerance officers in the criminal room all came to the morning shift in twos and threes.

In order not to disturb the news, Sima Hen pulled out his dagger and held the mysterious note in his palm.

Wu Guo glanced at him, and asked worriedly: "Chief arrester, do you think you want to tell Lord Mei about this?"

The "Lord Mei" he mentioned was the county magistrate of Qingyang County, and also the Mei Ruofeng mentioned in the death note.

Mei Ruofeng, a native of Qingzhou, Shandong, is now in his forties. He entered the Imperial College of the Imperial Academy at the age of 32. Because of his hard work and excellent grades, he was recommended by the Ministry of Officials as an official ten years ago, and was awarded the magistrate of Qingyang County, Huguang.On the way to his post, his original partner, Li Shi, unfortunately fell ill and died, leaving behind his ten-year-old daughter, Nuxue, to depend on her.It wasn't until more than two years ago, after Mei Nuxue married Sima Hen, that he remarried and married Miss Xiangrong, a Hua Dan Hua family who was born in an opera troupe, as his second wife.He has been an official for ten years and served three terms, and has always had a good reputation. It is said that he is expected to be promoted recently.Unexpectedly, at this time, someone threw a knife and left the card, threatening to take his life.

Sima Hen listened to Wu Guo's words, frowned and thought for a moment, "Forget it, Master Mei is going to worship his father at the Minghuang Temple in Jiangjunshan tonight. It won't help, but it will make him worry. Let's just take this matter to heart. Tonight, let's bring in more people, cheer up, and take care of your lord in the dark. Let's see who ate the leopard's gall and actually Dare to threaten the court order so blatantly."

Wu Guo nodded and said, "That makes sense, you're the son-in-law who is more considerate."

It turned out that Mei Ruofeng's father, Mei Shouke, was a Confucian in Qingzhou. He had read books all his life, and later came to Qingyang County with his son. Afterwards, Mei Ruofeng obeyed his father's last words and placed his coffin in the temple without burying it.There used to be an old monk who looked after the coffin and cleaned the dust in the temple. A few years ago, the old monk also died, and there was no one alive in the temple.

Piansheng Meizhi County is also a filial son. Not only must there be a kneeling ceremony at home every year on his father's memorial day, but also every three years, there must be a big sacrifice.

The so-called big sacrifice does not mean how big the pomp is, but that Mei Ruofeng is wearing filial piety clothes, alone, holding incense, candles, paper money, water and wine sacrifices, kneels down the mountain five steps, kneels down ten steps and kowtows, and worships in the temple on the mountainside. The solitary lamp was only a shadow, and stayed with his father for one night in front of his coffin to show his filial piety.

And today is the ninth day of March, which is the third day of the great sacrifice after Mei Shouke's death. It seems that the person who threw the knife and left a message knows this well, otherwise the "General Mountain" would not have appeared on the note. Minghuang Temple" is such an exact word.

Now that the opponent had indicated the location and time of the attack, it would be much easier for Sima Hen to defend with a target.

It's just that the other party was so blatant and confident, he didn't pay attention to the criminal room and others at all, which surprised Sima and Wu Guo.

What is the background of the other party?What are your intentions?

Is this death note a bluff threat, or a show off before the murder?

Will the other party really come tonight?
2
A few miles away from the north gate of Qingyang County, there is a Chunling River, and there is a Jiangjun Mountain beside the river.

On the side of the mountain facing the river, there is a steep cliff, while on the south side, the mountain is relatively gentle. There is a flat land on the mountainside, and a temple is built on it, which is the Minghuang Temple.

Minghuang Temple, originally called Minghuang Temple, according to legend, at the beginning of the founding of this dynasty, Emperor Taizu had a great battle with Han Wang Chen Youliang in Qingyang County. In this small temple on the mountain.General Xu Da, who was fighting in Daozhou at that time, heard the news and led his troops to rescue him, but was blocked by the enemy at the foot of the mountain.The two sides confronted each other for more than ten days, and Chen Youliang's army finally broke into the temple, but found that there was no one there except for a clay sculpture of a golden Bodhisattva, and the great grandfather had long since disappeared.The generals of the king of the Han Dynasty were shocked, only saying that the great grandfather had the help of the gods, so he was able to escape from the sky without a sound, and they all bowed down and worshiped the Bodhisattva.After Emperor Taizu came to the throne, the local people called this temple Minghuang Temple, and the incense in the temple was very popular for a while.Unexpectedly, the name of this temple violated the taboo of Emperor Taizu, who was originally a monk. In a rage, Taizu Longyan killed all the monks in the temple, and decreed to change "Minghuang Temple" to "Minghuang Temple". God's Temple".

Today, over the years, the lintel of the temple is damaged, the plaques are mottled and beyond recognition, but if you look carefully, it is not difficult to see
It was found that the radical "阝" of the word "随" in the three characters of "Minghuang Temple" is slightly different from other strokes, which was obviously added later in a hurry.

On this day, just in the afternoon, the weather was not good, and it started to rain.

Before the application time came, Sima Hen, the chief arrester of the county yamen, had already deployed his manpower. The advance man searched carefully in front of and behind the mountain. After confirming that no one was hiding on the mountain, he divided more than 30 arresters into ten groups. Braving the wind and rain, guarding all the small roads up the mountain, except for the county magistrate, other idlers, etc., are not allowed to pass.This is the first line of defense.

They also ambushed forty archers in the bushes on both sides of the only road leading to the temple gate on the mountainside at the foot of the mountain. Whenever there was a turmoil, they would immediately serve with bows and arrows.This is the second line of defense.

The third line of defense, and also the last line of defense, are two trees opposite the Minghuang Temple, two old pine trees that reach into the sky and canopy like umbrellas.Of course pine trees cannot defend against enemies, but people hiding in trees can.And Sima Hen and Wu Guo hid themselves on the two big trees respectively.

The tree is tall and straight, with luxuriant branches and leaves. Hiding on it, not only can it not get out of the rain, but it can just see the roof, doors and windows of Minghuang Temple.Anyone who wants to enter the temple cannot escape their surveillance.

With such a tight defense of the three lines of defense, even if a bird wants to fly into the temple without being discovered, it is very difficult.

Of course, in order not to worry the magistrate, all these protective measures were carried out in secret.

Because of the rain, it seemed to be getting dark earlier than usual.

Fortunately, Sima Hen and Wu Guo are both people with superb martial arts and eyesight. It is not difficult to see things in the dark.

The two perched on the tree and waited quietly.

As night fell, the rain became heavier and heavier, and the thunder became more and more dense.

At this moment, Sima Hen and Wu Guo noticed a man in a long gown and carrying a bamboo bucket walking slowly down the mountain.The two men immediately became alert and took a closer look, only to see that the man did not open an umbrella or wear a cape, facing the strong wind and heavy rain, he knelt down after walking five steps up the mountain, kowtowed after ten steps, and went. It was extremely difficult and slow, but when kneeling and kowtowing, it was meticulous and extremely serious.The lightning flashed, and the man's face could be clearly seen, but it was Mei Ruofeng, the county magistrate.

When the two met, they looked at each other, secretly admiring Mrs. Mei's filial piety.

The distance from the foot of the mountain to the middle of the mountain is not too long, but Mei Ruofeng has worked asceticly for more than an hour before arriving in front of the Deming God Temple.

He stood at the door, straightened his gown with his hands, then gently opened the temple door and walked in.

Immediately, the window of the wing room on the right side of the main hall was lit up, and a candle was already lit, and the candlelight just reflected his figure on the window.

After entering the house, he first put down the bamboo bucket in his hand, took out the dry clothes and changed into it, then took out the dust whisk and wiped off the dust on his father's coffin one by one, then set up the sacrifices, lit the incense candles, and knelt down to offer sacrifices. bye.

Although the big pine tree where Sima Hen and Wu Guo were hiding was more than [-] zhang away from the temple gate, through the shadow of the candlelight on the window, they could still get a general idea of ​​Mei Ruofeng's situation inside the house.

While watching the candle shadows in front of the window, the two of them looked at the six directions, paying attention to their vigilance, not daring to be careless at all.

I saw that Mei Ruofeng walked around her father's coffin after paying homage, stood for a while, and then sat down slowly. Sitting in front of the coffin, one hand was still stroking the coffin lid, as if she wanted to uncover the coffin. The conversation between Guy and his father was average.

The candlelight projection clearly reflected his figure on the window.

The figure was motionless, sitting extremely upright.It seemed that he was going to sit in front of the soul and accompany his father's soul overnight.

It has been nearly ten years since Mr. Mei passed away, yet he still retains this kind of filial piety, which is extremely rare.

Outside the temple, there were thunder and lightning, and the wind and rain were rushing.After the lightning, the surrounding fields were filled with darkness, only the rustling sound of the rain hitting the leaves made people feel flustered.

Sima Hen sat on the tree, looked back down the mountain, saw a few lanterns moving back and forth at the foot of the mountain, it was the sentry sent by him to guard the intersection, if something happened, the mountain would immediately give an alert.

Only then did he feel relieved, took out an iron jug from his bosom, opened it and took a sip, then threw the jug to Wu Guo, smacked his lips and said, "It's so windy, drink some wine to warm you up." Just warm up."

Wu Guo stretched out his hand to catch it, and said: "The weather is terrible. If I were the murderer, I would hide under the blanket tonight." After speaking, he took a sip of the wine and threw the jug back to him.

While drinking, Sima Hen said, "It's best if he doesn't come, but if he really wants to come, we won't be afraid of him."

With a smile, he threw the flagon over again.

Wu Guo took a big gulp of the strong wine, the feeling of alcohol welled up, his whole body warmed up, he suddenly felt proud, he laughed and said: "I think that guy better come here, otherwise our night's cold will be nothing. In vain."

Sima Hen couldn't help laughing and said: "That's true." The laughter didn't stop, and he suddenly remembered that he was a secret whistle. If someone really went up the mountain to try to harm the adults, his hiding place would be early. Just let people find out.

Thinking of this, he immediately shut up and kept his mouth shut, observing carefully and being on guard, while having a dull drink with Wu Guo.

A wrought-iron jug passed between the two of them, and before they knew it, it had bottomed out.

Wu Guo was still addicted to alcohol, and was about to ask him if he still had any more, when he suddenly heard the faint sounds of "Du, Dang, Dangdang" from the city below the mountain, but it was already the third watch.

Sima Hen's expression turned serious, and he said in a low voice, "The time has come, be more careful, don't let the murderer take advantage of your loopholes."

Hearing this, Wu Guo's heart trembled, he hurriedly raised his head and looked inside the temple, only to see Master Mei's sitting posture was still reflected in front of the window, the candlelight was flickering, and the figure was swaying lightly, there was nothing unusual, so he was relieved.Looking up at the sky, I only hope that God will stop the rain soon, and the sky will dawn soon, so that I can do business sooner.

But the sky was still dark, and instead of stopping the rain, it was pouring down.

Although the two of them hid in the tree, it was hard to get rain, but when the cold wind blew, they shivered all over, and the feeling of coolness was not very pleasant.

All of a sudden, there was a thunderclap in the sky, and the lightning pierced through the clouds like a sharp sword.

At this moment, Sima Hen suddenly groaned, fell straight from the pine tree, fell to the ground, rolled a long way, and lay in the muddy water without moving.

Wu Guo's surprise was really serious, he didn't care to go down the tree to save people, he immediately shouted: "Who is it?"I was even more shocked, the opponent succeeded in one blow, and retreated completely without a trace, obviously he was a master.

As soon as he pressed the trigger, the long sword came out of its sheath with a clang, and he shouted again: "Since your Excellency is here, why bother to hide your head and tail?"

While speaking out to spy, while looking around intently, looking for the enemy's trace.

Just when he turned his head to look at the dark forest behind him, there was a thud on the back of his head, and he had already been hit by a heavy palm.

He swayed, and with a cry, the long sword let go, and he fell down the tree, and rolled a long way down the hillside, just now he was blocked by a big rock, and was about to struggle to get up, only to feel the cold rain on his head, his headache was about to split, and his body He leaned back and passed out.

3
It is not so much that Wu Guo was awakened by the heavy rain, it is better to say that he was awakened by the cold wind, and he did not know how long he had been in a coma. His whole body was shaken, and he woke up suddenly, opened his eyes, the sky was still dark, and the rain was still falling. Still falling, he was still lying beside the rock, his head was still hurting, his body was as cold as a piece of ice, and his clothes had already been soaked several times inside and out.

He shivered involuntarily, turned over in the muddy water, struggled to get up, but turned around and found that the chief arrester, Sima Hen, was still lying in the wind and rain not far away.

He called "Chief arrester" twice, but there was no response, and he couldn't help being shocked: Could it be that the chief arrester has been murdered by criminals?
He hurriedly staggered closer, stretched out his hand to touch him, only felt that his body was still hot, the innermost clothes were not soaked, and his breathing was smooth, so he was relieved, pressed the Dazhui acupoint on his back with his palm, spit out a gentle internal force, gently Massage twice.

Sima Hen let out a "hum", and finally woke up leisurely.Sitting up, with a dazed look, she looked at him and asked, "Why, what's wrong?"

Wu Guo smiled wryly and said: "We both follow other people's advice, and I was just woken up by the rain."

"Really? You were also knocked out?" Sima Hen's eyes were like lightning, he glanced at him, suddenly thought of something, his face changed, he jumped up from the ground, and said, "How is your lord?"

Wu Guo's heart trembled, and then he remembered tonight's mission, he hurriedly looked up, only to see the magistrate's figure still swaying gently on the window, no different from before.

The two were relieved.

At this moment, I suddenly heard the sound of knocking on the bang from the foot of the mountain. It was already the fourth watch.

Sima Hen shook his body with muddy water, and said: "Unexpectedly, we fell asleep almost a night after this."

Wu Guo frowned and said: "That guy knocked us down, but he didn't strike at your lord, that's strange."

"I'm afraid there's something wrong with it." Sima Hen stared at the shadow on the window, and said suddenly, "Look, my lord has been sitting in the room for so long, why doesn't he even move?"

Wu Guo followed suit and wondered, "Isn't that shadow moving all the time?"

Sima said bitterly: "It's just that the wind is blowing and the candlelight is moving, so the shadow under the candlelight is also moving, but my lord doesn't seem to be moving."

Wu Guo wiped his eyes and took a closer look, it was indeed so, he couldn't help stamping his feet and said, "No, let's go in and have a look."

He jumped under the pine tree, picked up the fallen long sword, and rushed towards the temple together with Sima Hen.

The temple gate had already been damaged, and it was not tightly closed. Sima Hen took the first step, pushed open the temple gate, and stepped in.

The first thing you enter is the desolate and dilapidated main hall, and then you turn from the main hall to the right wing room. The wing room is not big, and a candle that has almost burned out is burning in the room. The candlelight shines on an old cypress coffin. The middle-aged man in a long gown was facing the door, sitting very upright, but his head was tilted down, his eyes were closed, and his expression was very peaceful, as if he had fallen asleep.This person is Mei Ruofeng, the county magistrate.

Sima Hen and Wu Guo saw nothing different, so they breathed a sigh of relief, they didn't want to disturb your lord's rest, and were about to leave quietly, when Sima Hen suddenly said, "No, your lord's expression seems to be a bit off."

Wu Guo took a look and felt the same, hurriedly called twice: "My lord, my lord."

Mei Ruofeng closed her eyes and lowered her head, as if she hadn't heard it, she didn't respond at all.

The two of them secretly felt something was wrong, they approached him, stretched out their hands to shake him gently, Mei Ruofeng suddenly jumped forward, and the whole person fell down, with a plop, lying on the ground, his body was stiff and silent.

As soon as the person fell to the ground, Sima Hen and Wu Guo were startled and jumped up as if they saw a ghost.

It turned out that a dagger had been inserted into Mei Ruofeng's back at some point. There was a bloody hole beside the dagger. The hole was not too big and not too deep. Obviously, the murderer missed Mei with the first knife. The fatal part of the adult is the puncture mark left by the drawn out dagger, but the second knife just pierced the heart from the back, which is a fatal blow.The edge of the knife was dark red, with a little blood oozing out.

When he touched Mei Ruofeng's body, the tentacles were cold, his breath was gone, and he had been out of breath for a long time.

Sima Hen and Wu Guo looked at each other, they were already stunned, after a long while, Sima Hen came back to his senses, with a look of fear and anger on his face, he said in a trembling voice, "Stay here and watch the scene, I will Go after the murderer."

Before the words were finished, the person had smashed open the window lattice, leaped out, looked around, and suddenly ran westward.At the same time, he raised his left hand, and a blue smoke rose into the sky, shot into the air, and suddenly exploded with a bang, igniting a ball of blue fireworks, which lasted for a long time.

This is the signal for the criminal room to urgently call in manpower. When the police officers guarding various places down the mountain see the smoke, they will know that there is a change in their feelings, and they will rush up the mountain immediately.

Before the blue light went out, Sima Hen had already braved the wind and rain and chased several miles westward.

(End of this chapter)