Chapter 5

“President Cui, how did you get your hands on this courtyard?” I suddenly asked.

Cui Sheng was taken aback, his eyes a bit evasive:

“Not long ago, I bought it from a merchant named Wang.”

“A merchant named Wang? Wang Defa?”

“Yes.”

“When you bought this courtyard, did Wang Defa say anything else?” I asked.

Cui Sheng sighed, “He just said that living here gave him constant nightmares, so he wanted to get rid of it. But for three years, no one bought it, and the price kept dropping. I thought, the location is good, and I could use it to host friends and relatives, so I bought it for five hundred taels. Who would have thought…”

“Five hundred taels?!” Xiao Zhang exclaimed. “Even though this courtyard is old, it’s located in Jinling Alley in Qinglan City. It’s worth at least two thousand taels!”

Xiao Zhang was not a local and had only recently joined the yamen,

so he naturally didn’t know about the rumors of this house being haunted.

Cui Sheng looked quite regretful:

“…Yes! I admit, I had heard about the haunting, and that’s why it was sold to me so cheaply. But I don’t believe in ghosts or evil! After I bought it… I even hosted two gatherings for business friends here, and nothing happened!”

“Haunted?! And you still bought it? I think you were just being greedy for a bargain!” Xiao Zhang said indignantly.

I said nothing more, just waved my hand:

“Take the body back to the yamen, and post guards at this courtyard. No one is allowed near!”

As I spoke, I looked at the coachman, Xu Kai. “You were the one who brought the deceased back last night, so come to the yamen and give a detailed account.”

Xu Kai answered, “Yes,” and followed the Constable away.

Xiao Zhang sidled up to me and whispered:

“Master, who do you think did it?”

I shook my head. “How could I know so soon? We’re just getting started!”

This case was rather tricky.

The doors and windows were locked from the inside, and there were no wounds or signs of poisoning on the body.

Someone must have used some very rare method.

But the deceased, Xu Minghao, was no ordinary person-he was a National Messenger!

If this case isn’t solved, I can forget about keeping my own head!

As I pondered, I glanced at the unfinished cup of tea:

“Take this teacup and the tea with it. See if there’s anything strange.”

The body was left to Coroner Li.

I took the sword that had lain by Messenger Xu’s pillow.