Murder case re-emerges

  The wind blew, the flowers swayed, and the air was filled with delicate floral scents, as well as a bloody smell accompanying the fragrance. Several flower girls stood on the official road, their faces pale, two of whom were still vomiting beside the ditch. Even the officials who often saw corpses couldn't help but cover their mouths and noses.

  Only Yan Sanbai remained expressionless, squatting beside the corpse, reaching out to check its temperature. "It's still warm, he can't have been dead for more than half an hour."

  As the line of sight moves to the right, there is a sickle with blood on it next to the corpse. The style is ordinary, neither new nor old, and each of the flower girls' baskets has one, making it impossible to find out where it came from.

  There were many footprints on the ground, all of which had been trampled and could no longer be traced.

  Suddenly, Yan Sanbai noticed something stuffed in the deceased's mouth, reached out and pulled it out to take a look, it was an embroidered handkerchief.

  "Ugh..." The officials next to him all showed disgusted expressions, because the white handkerchief was stained with blood and saliva, which was really disgusting.

  "Is this the killer's thing?" Ling Ding asked, suppressing his nausea.

  Yan Sanbai murmured, "It's not necessarily the case. However, since you asked, I'll help you investigate. Looking at this embroidery style is rare, it should be a young lady from a wealthy family, not difficult to find."

  "Hmm..." Ling Ding rubbed his nose, catching a glimpse of his master's schadenfreude expression out of the corner of his eye. With great difficulty, he pinched a corner of his handkerchief and took it over.

  Li Yan handed his handkerchief to Yan Sanbai and let him wipe his hands. "This Cheng Rui had been on Qin Sang's painting boat, I originally wanted to find him to ask questions, but I didn't expect him to be killed here, the murderer is not ordinary bold."

  "Both of the deceased had been on a painting boat, could this be their common point?" Ling Ding suddenly had an epiphany.

  Li Yan raised an eyebrow, "Who told you Li Qian had been on a painted barge?"

  "Didn't you tell Cheng Rui that it was the prince..."

  Li Yan's mouth hooked up again, revealing the same cold and ruthless smile he had shown when facing Cheng Rui earlier. "This is called 'a soldier never tires of deceit'."

  Yan Sanbai listened to the conversation between the master and servant, and couldn't help but smile wryly. "The more dangerous a place is, the safer it is," he said. "This place is just a stone's throw away from the painting boat, and there are many flower girls around. If the murderer can kill someone here without being detected, that would be truly bold and meticulous."

  The people around suddenly felt a chill, thinking that in such a beautiful flower field, under the gaze of everyone, they were cut down with a sickle like cutting firewood.

  Ling suddenly thought of a key point, "Yan Daxia, could the murderer be a woman? Think about it, she was able to mix in with the flower girls without being discovered, and her strength isn't great, plus she's not skilled at using knives."

  Li Yan said: "If the murderer is a woman, it indeed meets these conditions. Then who killed Qin Sang? A weak woman, how can she move someone to the rooftop?"

  Yan Sanbai shook his head, "Ling Ding makes a lot of sense, and we can't be certain now that the person who killed Qin Sang is the same one who killed Li Qian and Cheng Rui."

  Li Yan thought for a moment, indeed, they had all entered a dead end. Who said that the three murders were committed by the same person? Perhaps someone was avenging Qin Sang's death, or perhaps they were using her death to cover up their own tracks.

  He thought of this and asked: "It's noon now, have you had lunch?"

  "What?" Yan Sanbai was stunned.

  Ling also stared blankly, thinking that his master was deeply pondering some major issue.

  Even the officials present couldn't help but twitch at the corners of their mouths, with a bloody corpse right next to them, and yet they were discussing whether or not to eat... Ugh, I feel like I won't be able to eat all day today.

  Ling Ding also thought so, so he chose to go and check the handkerchief, while Li Yan took Yan Sanbai onto the painting boat for dinner.

  Watching Yan Sanbai eating is a very pleasant and elegant thing, that delicate chewing and slow swallowing, the serious and refined look can make people's appetite open. The screen of the faceless bookworm was placed next to the Eight Immortals table, Yan Sanbai occasionally glanced at it, eating on one side, his brain turning around.

  When he concentrates on thinking, the speed of chewing slows down. When a bright idea comes up, his eyes will involuntarily widen and slightly raise an eyebrow. When he can't think of it, he will wrinkle his nose.

  He was so absorbed in thought that even Li Yan, who had been watching him from across the room for half a day, hadn't noticed.

  Suddenly, he put down his bowl and chopsticks and asked: "Is there a temple nearby?"

  "Yes, Lingjue Temple is on Western Mountain." Li Yan understood at once. "Do you think Qin Sang might have met someone there?"

  "Hmm, judging from Tang Xiwen's testimony, Qin Sang once took him as Dong Lang, then she may have taken all the men she had contact with as Dong Lang, but for some reason, she found that these people were far apart from Dong Lang, so they parted ways again."

  Li Yan nodded, "This also makes sense. Whether it's Li Qian, Cheng Rui or Tang Xiwen, they all have one thing in common - they are all Xiucai, which is the same as Dong Lang."

  "Before the incident, Qin Sang had told Qiuying, 'Dong Lang has finally come to find her.' From this sentence, she seemed very certain that this person was the one she was waiting for. This person must be more like the original Dong Lang than anyone else." Yan Sanbai swallowed the last mouthful of rice in his bowl, "In the storybook, Dong Lang and Miss met at a temple on their first encounter. I think I'll go there to try my luck, maybe find this 'Dong Lang' and solve the whole case easily."

  If Li Qian and Cheng Rui's deaths can be explained with blood, what is the motive for killing Qin Sang? The person who last contacted Qin Sang before his death was likely this 'Dong Lang', and only he knows the truth.

  "However," said Yan San Bai, "before that I want to see Xiao Yue first."

  Xiao Yue is Qin Sang's personal maid, originally Yan Sanbai's first target was her, but the old procuress Jiuniang said Xiao Yue was shocked after witnessing Qin Sang's death and was taken back by her relatives.

  Of course, in Jiuniang's words, that was Xiaoyue's lover. As for the identity of this lover, it was somewhat beyond his expectations.

  "Didn't expect that?" Li Yan personally led the way in front, "Yuan family's young master is also a good person, I don't know how he and Xiao Yue hit it off. When Qin Sang mentioned it to me before I left for Chang'an, I was quite surprised too. After all, Xiao Yue is just a maid from Shallow Red Pavilion, while Yuan Yi Qing is a scholar with a bright future ahead of him, still unmarried, yet he truly accepted Xiao Yue, which is truly rare and precious."

  Yuanyi Qing was the son of the owner of Yuanfeng Baozi shop, where Yan Sanbai had been before. That day, he saw from afar that Yuanyi Qing looked handsome and gave a good impression. If he could be with Xiaoyue and become a couple, it would be something Qin Sang couldn't achieve.

  The Yuans' house was just behind the baozi shop, and Mr. and Mrs. Yuan were still busy in the shop, so Li Yan directly knocked on the door of the Yuans' house.

  The door was opened by an old servant. The Yuan family wasn't very large, and the old servant usually just helped with some cleaning and sweeping, allowing Yuan Yi Qing to focus on her studies.

  The old servant saw that it was Wang from Luoyang who had arrived, and he hastily welcomed him in. Just as he was about to loudly call out "Young Master", Yan Sanbai stopped him.

  "No need to trouble the old man, we can just go in ourselves."

  Li Yan passed a puzzled glance, Yan Sanbai calmly glanced at the house without making a sound and walked in first. Li Yan immediately understood with a smile, holding the folding fan behind his back, also walked in.

  In the main room, a man and a woman were having dinner. The man had clear eyebrows and eyes, with a gentle temperament, exactly like Yuan Yiqing seen that day. The woman next to him wasn't stunningly beautiful, but could be described as a delicate jade, a pair of pretty eyes making her ordinary face more vivid, except for a hint of illness between her brows. She was serving dishes to Yuan Yiqing and softly urging him to eat more.

  Although there are few words between them, the warmth in this space is enviable to others.

  "Cough." Yan Sanbai coughed and then walked in, "Two gentlemen, sorry to disturb you."

  The two of them looked over, and the woman was naturally Xiao Yue. She didn't recognize Yan Sanbai, but at a glance, she saw Li Yan behind him, and hastily stood up excitedly, "Your Highness!"

  Yuan Yi Qing hastily stood up and paid his respects, "I didn't know Your Highness was visiting my humble abode, I'm afraid I wasn't able to welcome you from afar."

  Li Yan waved his hand, "No need to apologize, it's actually us who are disturbing you during your meal. This is Yan San Bai Yan Gongzi, I'm sure you're aware of our purpose here."

  Li Yan spoke straightforwardly, Yuan Yi Qing and Xiao Yue exchanged a glance, their faces both becoming somewhat solemn. A hint of sorrow flowed out from Xiao Yue's eyes, "Actually, even if the prince didn't come looking for you, after eating this meal, Yi Qing would have accompanied me to find you, Miss is still lying in the yamen, her body not yet cold, I... really am..."

  "Xiao Yue, you're still not feeling well, sit down and talk first." Yuan Yi Qing considerately helped her sit down, and then called Li Yan and Yan San Bai over, personally bringing tea.

  "Xiao Yue, can you recall if there was anything unusual before Qin Sang's death?" asked Yan Sanbai.

  Xiao Yue shook her head, "Saying abnormal, it's not that there isn't, but Miss often has Dong Lang on her mind, as if she's immersed in her own fantasy, making it hard for people to distinguish what is abnormal and what isn't. This point, Your Highness should also be aware of."

  Li Yan nodded, indicating that what she said was correct.

  "Lately, however, the young lady has been mentioning Donglang more and more often. She seems to have become very excited, and even uses makeup more frequently. Yi Qing will soon be ransoming me back, I thought I could leave with peace of mind seeing her like this, but...” Xiaoyue said, her eyes reddening, the sickly color on her forehead deepening. Yuan Yiqing comforted her by placing a hand on her shoulder."

  "Prince Wang, Yan Gongzi, Xiaoyue and Qin Sang are like sisters. This time she's involved in such a big matter, Xiaoyue is also heartbroken. How could she witness that scene? Yuan Yiqing said sincerely: "Although we can't do much, please solve the case as soon as possible and give Qin Sang justice."

  "Are you quite certain, then, that Miss Qin was murdered?" Yan Sanbai asked suddenly.

  Yuanyi was taken aback and asked in return: "Isn't it?"

  "Miss is impossible to commit suicide!" Xiaoyue looked at Yan Sanbai with a slightly excited expression, her face flushed with two sickly red blushes. "Master Yan, you must believe me, she was so happy recently, I haven't seen her laugh so heartily in a long time, how could she end her life so easily..."

  Yan Sanbai hastily spoke to comfort her, "Little Miss Yue, don't be agitated. The prince is also acquainted with your family's young lady, if Qin Sang didn't commit suicide, we will definitely investigate and find the real culprit."

  "Yes," Yuan Yiqing also comforted, "Yan Gongzi is famous all over the world. With him here, Qin Sang will definitely not die unjustly. Don't get excited, it's bad for your body."

  Xiao Yue finally calmed down a bit, and Yan Sanbai asked again: "Miss Xiao Yue, do you still remember the scene that day? When were the candles in the room lit?"

  "That day I had an appointment with Yi Qing, so I went out early. When I came back...I saw the young lady fall from the building. At that time all the candles were already lit, but I don't know when they were lit."

  Yan Sanbai nodded slightly, then asked a few more irrelevant questions. Just as he was about to leave, he seemed to suddenly remember something and asked: "Autumn Cicada, has she always had a bad relationship with Qin Sang?"

  Xiao Yue hesitated, sneaking a glance at Li Ye before saying: "Yes, Autumn Cicada doesn't seem to like my young mistress much, but they've never quarreled. They just don't have much interaction on ordinary days. Sir Yan asking this way, is it because of Autumn Cicada herself..."

  "Oh, nothing, I just asked casually."

  When he went out, Li Yan asked: "How?"

  Yan Sanbai shook his head, "We can't see anything now, let's go to Lingjue Temple first."

  Upon hearing this, Li Yan tapped his folding fan on his shoulder and looked up to estimate the time, saying: "Then let's wait for a while first."

  "What?"

  "Waiting for the horse carriage." Li Yan turned his head and winked at him, "I, the king, haven't closed my eyes from yesterday to now, and it's all because of you, Yan Dashao, but not a bit sympathetic."

  Yan Sanbai touched his nose, not knowing how to respond, so he didn't. He changed the subject and said: "Autumn Cicada seems to like you."

  The update time every night may be slightly later~

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