Chapter 846: Confusing
Ma's residence was actually not far from the back garden, but the two were not connected. Instead, one had to take a detour through the two gates to enter and exit.
Compared with the two rows of template-style dormitories just now, the environment here is naturally much better, and the flying eaves and brackets are no less inferior to those of buildings and palaces.
But the most outstanding part is not the main room, but the east wing, which has a style very different from that of northern architecture.
"Master Qingtian."
Seeing Sun Shaozong stop and look at the structure of the east wing, the clever maid Qiuhong said timidly: "The east wing is where my master practices Taoism and cultivates the mystical world. Even my wife doesn't dare to enter it without permission on weekdays."
After hearing what she said, Sun Shaozong became even more curious.
However, the person who could make the decision was not around at the moment, and he did not want to make things too difficult for the two maids, so he just nodded ambiguously, then motioned Qiuhong to go forward and push open the door of the main room.
As soon as I entered the door, I could smell a warm fragrance. When I entered the inner room, the smell became stronger.
The interior decoration, like the tassels on the hood, was full of girlish charm - Sun Shaozong even found a string of pink wind chimes and paper cranes on the window.
"Look around and see if there's anything odd."
As Sun Shaozong gave the order, he opened the closet. He saw layers of clothes inside, all for women, and not a single piece of men's clothing.
So he asked casually, "Doesn't Master Hongyuan sleep here on weekdays?"
Qiu Hong hesitated for a moment before answering hesitantly, "Master...Master is preparing elixirs for His Majesty."
Although Ma was dead, Master Hongyuan was still alive and was favored by the emperor. As a maid, how could she dare to disclose the privacy between the couple?
Therefore, we can only be so vague in our words.
Sun Shaozong was too lazy to argue with her, and asked directly: "So, Master Hongyuan and his wife haven't had sex for a long time? How is their relationship?"
"The relationship between Madam and the real person is…very good."
As Qiuhong spoke, she subconsciously lowered her head. However, what she was trying to conceal was not the timidity she was pretending to be, but the helplessness in her eyes.
At this moment, a series of crisp tinkling sounds suddenly came from the house. Qiuhong looked up subconsciously and saw Sun Shaozong tearing off a paper crane and disassembling it with great interest.
Her first thought was to speak to dissuade him, but as her lips moved slightly, she remembered the identity of the person in front of her, so she swallowed her words back.
Just as he was about to lower his head again, he heard Sun Shaozong talking to himself: "I have also looked around just now. Apart from Ma, there is not even a proper maid in this mansion - now that Ma is dead, I am afraid this mansion will no longer need so many maids in the future, right?"
"Although disciples of the Tianshi Mansion can marry and have children, they are still cultivators after all, so they are more cautious about men and women than others - especially since Master Hongyuan doesn't like women anymore."
"I guess when the staff is laid off, the younger and more attractive the women are, the less likely they are to stay."
"And if a personal maid is dismissed shortly after her master's sudden death , do you know what kind of reputation she will have?"
Having said that, Sun Shaozong finally threw away the paper crane in his hand and looked at the two maids with a smile.
Qiuhong felt anxious and short of breath when Sun Shaozong looked at her, but she still gritted her teeth and didn't say a word.
But Xia He did not have such composure. After listening to Sun Shaozong's analysis, she was so frightened that her soul almost flew away. Now that she was being stared at by his eagle-like eyes, how could she care about the master-servant relationship and professional ethics?
She immediately knelt down in front of Sun Shaozong and said repeatedly: "Please, sir, please save me. Qiuhong and I only know how to serve the lady and have never done anything bad!"
As she spoke, she began to cry with tears streaming down her face.
The two of them usually go in and out together, and know similar things. Since Xia He has been frightened, what's the point of Qiu Hong remaining silent?
So I could only sigh secretly, and then kneel down, touching the ground with my head, and said: "Please, Master Qingtian, show us a way to survive."
To Sun Shaozong, scaring two little maids was not really an achievement, so he just raised his chin and said calmly: "Stand up and answer."
Xia He wanted to beg, but Qiu Hong quickly pulled her up from the ground and listened attentively.
"If you are innocent and implicated, then don't hide anything." Sun Shaozong said, "If you can provide some useful clues and help me find the real culprit as soon as possible, it can comfort Ma's spirit in heaven, and I can also reward you at my discretion. In the future, whether you are waiting to be married or looking for another family, I will never let you be disturbed by rumors."
Before Qiuhong could say anything, Xia He beside her was already overjoyed and hurriedly thanked her, promising to tell the truth and not to lie.
In order to show her sincerity, she couldn't wait to answer Sun Shaozong's previous questions.
"As for the relationship between the Madam and the Master, they seem to be quite affectionate on a daily basis. Not to mention their food, clothing and daily expenses, the Master often chats with the Madam when he has time."
"But the master has to avoid Yin energy when refining the elixir, so we never see them...doing anything like husband and wife."
"I don't know if it's because of this, but Madam is always a little depressed when she's alone. It wasn't until recently that she gradually became happy, but..."
Seeing that she was talking about the key point, she suddenly puffed up her face like a bun, as if she wanted to say something but hesitated. Sun Shaozong couldn't help but urge her: "But what? Is there anything unusual about her?"
"this……"
Xia He frowned more and more, and after a while she said in a frustrated tone, "I can't tell what's wrong with Madam, but she seems to be thinking about something."
"Madam seems to be worried about gains and losses."
At this time Qiu Hong interrupted and said, "Madam seems to be unsure about something. She is fine in front of others, but she becomes restless when she is alone."
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Xia He nodded her head quickly like a chick pecking at rice: "That's exactly what happened. Qiu Hong and I ran into this several times."
Judging from all these signs, the inference that Ma had an affair with the murderer is probably pretty close.
As for Ma's sudden improvement in mood and her anxious and fearful behavior, common sense would deduce that it must be related to her lover.
Decided to run away together?
What she waited for was to be killed by her lover?
Tsk~
The plot of a soap opera at eight o'clock.
But there was no one in this house who matched the murderer's physical description. How did the murderer manage to meet Ma, who lived a reclusive life, in the back garden without anyone noticing?
This can only be explained if there is an insider responsible for the communication in the play.
Could it be these two maids in front of me?
wrong.
Although the two personal maids could easily get close to Ma, it was not convenient for them to have contact with the outside world, and they would most likely reveal their identities if they were questioned afterwards.
Thinking of this, Sun Shaozong asked again: "Before going to the garden today, did she behave in any unusual way? Or did she meet anyone alone?"
"Madam has been with us the whole day and has never been alone with anyone else." Qiu Hong shook her head and said, "To be honest, Master, ever since we heard that someone died in the Tianshi Mansion, there has been a lot of panic in this mansion. Even if Madam has done something abnormal, we servants can't see it."
After a pause, she added, "But in the evening, Madam suddenly felt bored and insisted on going to the back garden alone, which seemed a bit strange."
Needless to say, Sun Shaozong had noticed this a long time ago.
"Besides that, what else? Has she behaved in any unusual way recently?"
"this……"
The two maids looked at each other. Qiuhong shook her head, while Xiahe seemed to be thinking about something. She hesitated for a while and said, "I don't know if this is unusual or not. Recently... recently... recently..."
He kept mumbling, his face getting redder and redder, but his voice became smaller and smaller.
Seeing this, Sun Shaozong immediately frowned and scolded: "If Ma is still alive, he would definitely hope to find the real culprit as soon as possible. What is there to be ashamed of now?"
After this shock, Xia He no longer dared to hesitate and said hurriedly: "Recently, Madam has been feeling that her chest is swelling, and the underwear she brought from the south has also... become inexplicably tight."
Chest swelling?
Is your underwear getting tighter?
The broken shoulder strap first flashed through Sun Shaozong's mind, and then the silhouette of Youshi with her waist twisted and her body leaning sideways at Ningguo Mansion emerged in his mind.
Secondary development?
I see!
No wonder she wanted to run away with her lover, no wonder her lover suddenly killed her!
Sun Shaozong immediately called over a yamen runner who was searching for evidence and whispered something in his ear.
The bailiff looked surprised, then nodded repeatedly, turned around and left in a hurry.
Huang Bin walked in from outside and reported: "Your Excellency, the statements of those who stayed behind have been recorded, but it just so happens that everyone has an alibi before and after the incident."
This was not beyond Sun Shaozong's expectations, but in this case, it would take more effort to find the traitor.
"grown ups."
Huang Bin was thinking about it, and then he asked carefully, "Should we send more people to protect the people in Tianshi Mansion?"
"Um?"
"'Tianshi Mansion' is three characters, and two of them have died..."
It seems that he thought of the possibility that the murderer committed crimes continuously and killed three people.
but……
If this case is the same as Sun Shaozong's deduction, that is, because Ma was pregnant and the adulterer was afraid that the matter would be leaked, so he planned to kill Ma, then wouldn't it be superfluous for him to complete the three kills and provoke the Tianshi Mansion?
Sun Shaozong even suspected that the so-called "Master" was actually added by the murderer as a cover-up after learning about the Tianshi Mansion case.
The real perpetrators of this unsolved case were another group of people.
However, all this is just speculation at the moment, so Sun Shaozong didn't say much, but just waved his hand, signaling Huang Bin not to mention the matter for the time being.
Then he asked the two maids, "Since your wife came to Beijing, has there been any tall people around her?"
The two maids nodded without hesitation.
This was so quick and decisive that Sun Shaozong was a little surprised.
After all, both Master Hongyuan and Taoist Hongfeng had said that Ma lived in seclusion and had never seen any outsiders. They also said that there were no tall people in the mansion.
However, the two maids' current attitudes are completely opposite!
Sun Shaozong immediately became interested and stared at the two of them, asking, "Who are they?!"
"It's Taoist Priest Ma, the eldest disciple of the Immortal."
Qiu Hong said, and hurriedly added: "He is also Madam's nephew, so he met Madam several times when he was in the capital."
Nephew?
Is this the kind of stimulating relationship?!
"What did you mean by originally?"
Sun Shaozong was shocked, but immediately grasped the key point of this sentence: "Could it be that Taoist Master Ma is not in the capital now?"
Xia He rushed to say, "More than ten days ago, Taoist Master Ma was sent by the Immortal to Longhu Mountain to deliver a letter."
I see!
If the Taoist Ma pretended to return to Jiangxi, but secretly lurked in the capital, and managed to invite Ma to the back garden and then killed her.
Then it is not surprising that he invaded from outside and was familiar with the geographical environment and daily routines.
but……
In this case, Master Hongyuan’s previous reaction seemed very strange.
Even if that Taoist Ma had left more than ten days ago, the tall and burly man he mentioned was most likely a disciple of this mansion, so Zhenren Hongyuan should have thought of him.
But why do you have to play word games and say that there is no tall and strong man in your house?
suspicious!
It's really suspicious!
However, it doesn't make logical sense to say that Master Hongyuan is a suspect.
How could a man who has been cuckolded, became a father, and had his wife killed, actively favor the adulterer?
Sun Shaozong was a little confused for a moment, but this did not prevent him from making a prompt order, asking Huang Bin to find the Taoist priests in the mansion, draw the appearance of Taoist Ma, and then secretly set up checkpoints at various city gates to intercept him.
The city gates are closed at Youzheng [six o'clock], and it takes at least two quarters of an hour to rush to the nearest city gate from Zhenren Mansion, which is simply not enough time.
If Taoist Ma is really the murderer, he must still be in the city now!
After a pause, Sun Shaozong continued, "What you just said does make some sense. How about this? I will write a letter to ask Lord Wei to transfer some people from the city defense camp in the name of our Dali Temple to guard this place at all times."
As he said this, he asked two maids to bring writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstone, and wrote a letter of request with great enthusiasm. He also stamped it with his personal seal as a proof, so that Wei Yi could feel at ease to dispatch personnel.
When Sun Shaozong handed the letter to Huang Bin, he noticed Qiu Hong seemed to be hesitant to speak, and asked curiously, "What? Did you remember something?"
Qiu Hong hurriedly shook her head, but then asked hesitantly, "Sir, you...are you suspecting that Taoist Ma is the murderer of Madam?"
Sun Shaozong raised his eyebrows and asked ambiguously, "So what?"
"Can……"
Qiu Hong became more and more hesitant, but finally said, "But Taoist Ma didn't go alone. He was accompanied by two other fellow apprentices."
There were three of them?!
Sun Shaozong's heart sank. If the three of them went to Jiangxi together, if Taoist Ma stayed alone or left halfway, he would definitely be suspected afterwards.
Unless those three are in the same group!
But this is even more incredible.
You must know that the person who died was not an ordinary person, but the wife of Master Hongyuan, who was also their master's wife.
This involves adultery and ethics, who dares to tell others about it? !
Sun Shaozong's mind was full of thoughts, but he asked further: "Were the two junior brothers who accompanied him chosen by Taoist Ma himself, or were they assigned by Master Hongyuan?"
"It was assigned by Taoist Master Hongfeng."
This is even more strange!
Even if there really were two accomplices who were loyal to each other and would not hesitate to kill their own mistress, how could Taoist Ma guarantee that his most loyal accomplice would be chosen to go with them?
