Chapter 11
Due to the escalation of the situation.
I applied for a higher-level investigation order, and the investigation began overnight.
Regarding Xu Minghao-
He arrived in Qinglan City two days ago and first stayed at Cui Mansion.
According to the servants of Cui Mansion, Xu Minghao spent most of his time resting in the guest room,
only going out once, when the coachman Xu Kai drove him to Bibo Lake in the west of the city for a stroll.
On the way, they stopped at a tea stall and had some tea.
On the second night, Cui Sheng hosted a banquet at the Drunken Immortal Pavilion.
Afterwards, Xu Minghao insisted on moving into Cui Sheng’s newly purchased “Su’s Old Courtyard.”
When asked for the reason, he said that during the banquet, Cui Sheng and the others talked about the courtyard, and Xu Minghao himself said he didn’t believe in such superstitions and insisted on staying there.
On this point, Captain Yin and everyone present at the banquet can testify.
But I feel that things can’t be that simple.
Xu Minghao is a National Messenger, and Captain Yin said he was on a mission.
Why would he suddenly want to move into the rumored “Ghost Manor”?
……
The Constable sent to investigate the tea stall reported back:
The tea stall owner said he had served a military officer and a coachman.
But there were many customers at the time, so he couldn’t recall the details.
Regarding Wang Defa-
After selling the courtyard, Wang Defa rented a small shop in the south of the city to run a small business.
At noon today, someone saw him being called away by a man,
and after that, no one saw him again.
His time of death was between Shen and You hours.
In other words, Wang Defa was taken away at noon and died in the afternoon, only to be discovered by a passerby?
Then, the time between his death and when we learned about it and rushed to the abandoned temple was about one shichen (about two hours)?
It’s hard not to suspect that someone deliberately wanted us to discover this.
……
“Boss! Something’s wrong!”
A Constable stumbled into the yamen, his clothes stained with ashes,
“The people have surrounded the Ghost Manor! They’re throwing torches! Splashing dog’s blood! They say a vengeful ghost is claiming lives and want to burn down the house!”
I kicked aside the case files and rushed out the door……
In the distance, firelight flickered chaotically, and curses shook the sky.
Xiao Zhang was being jostled by the crowd, his official hat askew.
Several ruffians were climbing over the wall, throwing torches into the courtyard.
The branches of the Old Osmanthus Tree had already been singed by sparks.
“Ghosts kill people! Anyone who stays dies! If the officials can’t get to the bottom of it, don’t stop us from driving out evil!”
“That’s right! The vengeful ghost even chased someone to the abandoned temple! Don’t blame us for destroying this place today!”
I stopped abruptly: How…
How did they know Wang Defa died at the abandoned temple outside the city today?!
A moment later, I suddenly understood!
“This is like hiding silver here and claiming none is hidden!” (idiom: someone’s guilty conscience betrays them)
It seems someone is afraid we’ll uncover clues about Xu Minghao’s death.
So they threw out Wang Defa’s death first to muddy the waters!
On one hand, they use a chain of deaths to confirm the rumors about the Ghost Manor,
on the other, they incite unrest to hinder the investigation.
What a clever move to divert disaster elsewhere.
Wait!
Something’s still not right!
Whether according to Cui Sheng’s previous statement,
or as Captain Yin said, Messenger Xu was clearly supposed to deliver a Secret Letter.
There was no Secret Letter in his luggage, which means the enemy already got it.
At this point, I’ve already reported the details to my superiors.
But if the enemy already has the Secret Letter,
why would they need to orchestrate Wang Defa’s death as well?
Could it be that the enemy actually didn’t get the Secret Letter?
Or perhaps… what they got was a fake?
“Master!” Xiao Zhang ran over, panting, “Luckily you arrived in time, we finally managed to get things under control!”
Ghosts aren’t afraid of the truth, but people are.
At this moment, Captain Yin arrived.
Though it’s autumn, he was still wrapped in his cloak-clearly his old illness persists.
“What happened?” Captain Yin asked.
“The people are causing trouble. I don’t know who spread the rumors.”
“After all, there are no walls that the wind can’t pass through. These are matters of life and death.”
“Captain Yin is right,” I replied respectfully.