The Delicate Lady Coroner Chapter 121: Rikkafei 17
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Chapter 121 Six Flowers Flying 17
The night was like a splash of ink, and a group of people set off from the gate of Wu Zhaohou Mansion and headed straight to Guang’an Street in the east of the city.
The long spring night in April was still a little chilly. Bo Ruoyou sat by the window. The cool breeze rushed in from under the curtains, making her flinch. Huo Weilou frowned and raised his hand to take off his coat. The robe was draped over her body, and Bo Ruoyou blinked. In the past, she would have refused, but now she accepted it calmly. She closed her clothes and raised the corners of her lips.
Huo Weilou held her hand again, and felt that her hands were cold. He put her hand in his palm, and spoke seriously, with a rather solemn tone, “If you have any ideas in the future, let me know first. I don’t need you to run for these searches. If you encounter a bad person, how can only Zhou Liang protect you?”
He had a serious face, which reminded Bo Ruoyou of an elderly person. Her smile fell into her pupils, her eyebrows were soft, “Master Hou has been busy investigating the gold ointment for the past two days, and I don’t have any evidence, so I always want to get some more clues before I can tell Mr. Hou. Don’t worry, Mr. Hou, I have sense and will not do anything risky.”
Although Huo Weilou didn’t completely agree, he knew that she had an idea after looking at Wen Wen’s kind words, so he had to endure the rest of his words, “Today, Tai Hospital has been conducting consultations in the south of the city, but we still haven’t formulated an antidote. Let me tell you Their golden ointment was made from Beauty Smile, but someone found the medicinal fruits and seeds of Beauty Smile in the inner medicine store, but most of them had never heard of Beauty Smile’s preparation method, and it didn’t help much.”
Bo Ruoyou’s heart sank slightly, “How is the prince today?”
Huo Weilou’s eyes turned cold when he heard this, “Although it’s not as hard as when the poison took hold, I haven’t eaten all day today. In the evening, Eunuch Fu forcibly fed me some gruel, but he vomited it out in a moment. , quite difficult.”
Bao Ruoyou had no choice but to appease Huo Weilou, and Huo Weilou squeezed her palm and continued talking about Song Yu’s death, “The two people Song Yu met before his death were related to the gold ointment. During the past two days, it was found out during the interrogation in the heavenly prison that, A rich gentry named Li who was invited by Song Yu was the first person to sell gold ointment in the capital. Later, the gold ointment flow spread, and he also contributed to the situation.”
After a pause, Huo Weilou continued: “He has a lot of connections in the southwest. Several state capitals in the southwest are now more serious than the capital due to lack of control. The imperial court has sent inspection envoys to the southwest, but It takes half a month to get there, and you have seen the person who first sold this thing in the southwest, guess who it is.”
This was the first time Huo Weilou told the matter in such detail, and she never expected that she had seen someone selling this thing in the southwest!
To be able to do such a business, he must be no ordinary small businessman. As for the famous merchants and wealthy people, she did not recognize anyone. As soon as this thought came out, Bo Ruoyou suddenly frowned. No, he still saw her. More than one person…
“Could it be…the Shen family?”
When he returned to Beijing, he took a boat belonging to the Shen family, and Shen Ya was the young boss of the Shen family. After thinking about it, Bo Ruoyou realized that only the Shen family could control the distribution of gold paste.
Huo Weilou’s eyes showed a look of affirmation, “It is the Shen family. The Shen family originally made their fortune from the south. They discovered this thing last year, and then bought it in the southwest, and then sold it privately in the market. Now it has become quite large. Year The land in the southwest had benefited a lot, so they thought of bringing it to the capital. The wealthy gentleman surnamed Li who Song Yu invited to the mansion before his death was an old friend of the Shen family who relied heavily on him in Beijing.”
Bo Ruoyou’s scalp went numb when he heard it. The Shen family is the richest family in the Zhou Dynasty. If they are selling this thing privately, you can imagine how many people in the southwest are taking it. “Is it possible that Mr. Song is also involved?” In this matter?”
Huo Weilou spoke in a low voice and told her in more detail, “The corruption in Qinshui County was difficult to move forward after we only found the Household Department. Because there were errors in several key account books, we found Song Yu.” Song Yu had also been aware of it for a long time, but at this moment, he was poisoned. As soon as he died, the clues were cut off. Now these people are all related to the gold ointment, so we suspect that there is corruption in the household department. It has something to do with gold paste.”
Bao Ruoyou opened his eyes and said, “Could it be that…the money stolen by the person behind the scenes was used to make gold ointment business?”
When Huo Weilou saw her, he curved his lips slightly and said happily, “Now we are tracing the origin of the gold ointment with the clues scattered in the capital. But if we can find out the person who poisoned Song Yu right now, then It saves us a lot of time.”
There are many merchants who privately sell gold ointment in the capital. Although the Zhishi is neat and tidy, it will take a lot of effort to find out the clues one by one. But if it is possible to directly find out who poisoned Song Yu, that family The case of corruption in the Ministry of Finance can be solved directly, and it can also be known whether the corruption in the Ministry of Revenue is related to the gold paste.
Huo Weilou looked at Bao Ruoyou with a deep look, clearly showing some eagerness. Bao Ruoyou felt uncomfortable when he looked at him, and whispered: “We may not be able to find the murderer this time -”
Huo Weilou spoke softly, “Whether you can find it or not, you have done an excellent job.”
The warm breath of his words fell on her face, causing her heart to beat faster. First he was the superior person she admired, and now he is the person who holds her hand and looks at her with gentle eyes. She was originally She was a person who would be shy when being praised by those close to her, let alone in such a situation. She felt a little short of breath, and the already cramped and dark car suddenly heated up.
“I…I have nothing to do…so I was wondering if I could do anything…”
Bao Ruoyou leaned back and his voice was soft due to shyness. He was no longer as calm and steady as usual. Huo Weilou’s eyes became even more passionate when he saw her like this before he spoke again. His voice was low and hoarse, as if strong alcohol was burning his throat, “Why are you doing this?”
Bo Ruoyou was stunned, “I am a widower, so this book should be…”
Huo Weilou squeezed her hand and said, “You didn’t tell the truth.”
He looked at her earnestly, Bo Ruoyou had no way to retreat, and seeing the clear hope in his eyes, she felt an inexplicable tingling on her spine. She swallowed hard and was finally defeated. , “I… want to help Mr. Hou run his errands more smoothly, but I am not very powerful and I don’t know if I can help Mr. Hou. I am lucky today.”
She has always been calm and calm, and she has never felt ashamed even if she was looked down upon by others. But facing him in a high position, she was still quite powerless. Huo Weilou understood what he heard, and the faint light in his eyes dimmed, and he leaned forward. He got closer to her, “You are not weak. You are the person who has the greatest influence on me in the world. You have done more than many people in office. You are focused and tenacious, your ambition is extraordinary, and your appearance is even better than that of an immortal.” , No one makes me feel at ease and unable to control myself like you, and no one makes me like you-“
Bo Ruoyou’s heart was rising and falling as he listened, but his words suddenly stopped and he couldn’t help but ask: “What?”
Huo Weilou paused, his eyes burning, “It makes me want to do something inappropriate.”
Bao Ruoyou didn’t understand at first, but then his eyes moved, and his face slowly became angry. Although he didn’t say it very frankly, she also thought that it must be a very intimate thing between men and women. She held her breath, and a thin layer of sweat instantly overflowed from the palm of his hand. A tingling sensation spread from her heart. She wanted to stay away from him, but her heart beat like a drum and she couldn’t move.
After Huo Weilou said this, he took a deep breath, suddenly straightened up and stepped away. There was a lot of restraint and patience in his eyes, but he still couldn’t bear to let go of her hand, “In short, I don’t like you to belittle yourself, even if you Doing nothing but being in front of me makes me happy, and there is no difference between you and me like you said.”
She did say this, and Huo Weilou obviously remembered it. Bo Ruoyou felt a little sad in her heart. She calmed down, knowing that he would not be angry, so she retorted: “But Mr. Hou and I do, The status is clear.”
Huo Weilou tugged at the corners of his lips helplessly, his face not showing it, but his tone full of resentment, “So what if you have a high position? I haven’t seen you fulfill my wish.”
Bao Ruoyou knew what he was talking about and retorted: “Who makes the Marquis’ wishes go against the times…”
Huo Weilou was noncommittal and agreed meaningfully, “Well, yes, I do have a lot of inappropriate thoughts——”
His gaze seemed to be scorching, and Bo Ruoyou’s eyes trembled, and she no longer dared to refute him.
The carriage galloped all the way, and when it arrived at Guang’an Street, the lights on the entire long street were still dim and bright. A group of people stopped directly in front of the Wei Family Teahouse. The shopkeeper came out and the servants of the Hou Mansion first cleared away the guests in the teahouse, and then Huo Weilou took Bao Ruoyou out of the carriage.
When we entered the lobby of the tea shop, we saw that the nobles were elegantly decorated, and there were always musicians and singers. It was much more interesting than ordinary tea shops. When Huo Weilou stood still in the hall on the first floor, the shopkeeper His face turned slightly pale with fright. After he stepped forward to salute, he looked confused and confused. Huo Weilou glanced at the tea shop and pointed to the back hall, “Go and search first.”
The shopkeeper looked anxious, “Hou, Mr. Hou, I wonder what mistake the shop made?”
Huo Weilou naturally would not answer his words, and the shopkeeper said again: “But for the gold ointment? Please tell me, Lord Marquis, that all the gold ointment in the shop has been turned over to the government, and the little people can take it as a warning. I don’t dare to sell this thing privately anymore.”
The attendants entered the back hall to search, and others went to the second and third floors to search. Huo Weilou was silent for a moment, and suddenly asked: “Do you recognize Song Yu, the Minister of Household Affairs?”
The shopkeeper rolled his eyes and finally nodded, “Yes, yes, Master Song is also a frequent visitor to our tea shop. Naturally, you guys don’t dare not recognize him. It’s just that Mr. Song has been visiting the shop for many days. I don’t know, you guys.” What’s wrong with that?”
“Did Song Yu come to your store seven days ago?”
“Seven…seven days ago…little man, I can’t remember right now…” The shopkeeper looked like he was thinking hard at first, then he apologized and said with a smile that he couldn’t remember.
Huo Weilou raised his sword eyebrows and glanced at the attendants around him. Immediately, someone took the store clerk standing on one side of the lobby to another place for interrogation. Cold sweat dripped down the shopkeeper’s face when he saw this, and his eyes flicked to the door from time to time. Looking outside, it seems like he is waiting for someone.
Huo Weilou was not in a hurry. After a while, he chose a place to sit down. He pointed to his side and ordered Bao Ruoyou to sit down. Bao Ruoyou hesitated at first and stared at him dissatisfied before joining him. sit down.
Huo Weilou looked at the shopkeeper and said, “Tea.”
The shopkeeper immediately came forward respectfully. As the shopkeeper of this teahouse, although he is not a waiter, his skills should be good. However, when he made tea for Huo Weilou and the two of them, the cup was empty. The tea in the cup was poured out twice, and the hand holding the teacup was visibly trembling.
Bo Ruoyou looked at it and became even more certain that there must be something fishy here.
The attendant who went to search the back hall soon came back, “Master Marquis, there is nothing abnormal in the back hall yet, and no trace of gold paste was found. It’s just that the last few rooms are locked, and the subordinates did not break the door. .”
Huo Weilou looked at the shopkeeper and said with an apologetic smile: “Master Hou, those rooms are where the tea leaves of the shop are stored. Because the tea leaves used in the shop are all valuable, the warehouses are usually locked. The gentleman wants to search, so I will go get the key and open the door.”
Huo Weilou was noncommittal, but the shopkeeper went to get the key. After a while, he led his attendants to the backyard. Huo Weilou just picked up the tea cup and drank tea, looking calm and relaxed, as if he was the one who took care of Bo Ruo. You came to have tea.
After half a stick of incense, the attendants came out with the shopkeeper. They nodded to Huo Weilou, “Master Marquis, these are indeed tea leaves and things used in the shop.”
Bo Ruoyou frowned, but Huo Weilou was not in a hurry. He didn’t say much. Not long after, an attendant came out with a young man in a coarse gray shirt, “Master Hou, this person said that seven days ago , I have indeed seen Mr. Song, the Minister of Household Affairs, come to the shop to drink tea.”
The shopkeeper’s expression changed slightly, “Ah, have you really been here before? I really can’t remember, so I guess I have been here before.”
The boy’s face was pale and he said in a trembling voice: “Master Song does come here often. The young people must recognize and remember the distinguished nobles clearly. That day Master Song came and asked for a pot of Biluochun tea. , but also…”
He paused and glanced at the shopkeeper hesitantly. At this time, the servant of the Hou Mansion scolded him, and then he hurriedly said: “He also said that he wanted to see our third master, who is our boss. At that time, the little people When I couldn’t decide, I went to call for shopkeeper He.”
This time, Shopkeeper He couldn’t get rid of the problem. He wiped his own sweat and said: “It is true. I remembered it. Mr. Song wanted to see our boss. It happened that our boss was often there in those days. In the store, I went to the Accord in the back to call the owner out. The two met and had a pleasant conversation. However, Mr. Song seemed to have something to do and left after a short time.”
Song Yu did meet someone. As for whether they had a pleasant conversation, it would not be that simple. Huo Weilou played with the tea cup in his hand without saying a word, with a cold and unpredictable expression on his face, which made people feel uneasy.
The tea brewed by the shopkeeper is also top-grade Biluochun. This tea seems to be the signature of their store, and because the tea soup is green, the tea cup used to brew the tea is a Youzhou white porcelain tea set. At this moment, the green tea soup is in the white porcelain room. As it circulates, even the fragrance of tea seems to be a little more fragrant for a while.
Seeing that Huo Weilou didn’t speak, the shopkeeper continued: “Master Song has been here a lot, and we are all acquaintances with our boss, so when we arrived at the store, it was not unusual to say hello and talk to our boss for a while, so Xiao People sometimes don’t remember clearly.”
“Is your boss a cousin of Wei Shangshu?”
The shopkeeper suddenly broke into a cold sweat and said, “Yes, he and Wei Shangshu are from the same clan. Their only name is the word ‘Tsuan’, and they are known as Mr. Wei Sanye.”
Huo Weilou nodded and turned to look at Bo Ruoyou. Bo Ruoyou had a thought in his heart. When he saw him, he spoke to him in a low voice. However, there were many people in the store and it was hard for others to hear what she said, so Almost whispering to Huo Weilou.
She said: “Master Hou, if the seeds of the beauty’s smile are really stuck here, there must be many left behind. I want to go to the backyard to have a look.”
The seeds of Beauty’s Smile are used as medicinal materials and are valuable, so naturally they will not be spread everywhere. And they suspect that Song Yu got the seeds of Beauty’s Smile because of the gold ointment, let alone in the lobby, and The seeds of that beauty’s smile were tiny, and maybe there are still some left behind.
Huo Weilou understood what she meant, nodded, stood up and went to the backyard with her. The shopkeeper wanted to follow, but he asked the shopkeeper to stay in the lobby and instead ordered the boy who told the truth. Follow to the back hall.
As soon as they entered the back hall, they saw that the teahouse was really spacious. There was a three-story main building in the front, and a continuous courtyard in the back. In the atrium, there were pavilions of flowers and plants, shaded by elms and willows, and as you walked along the corridor, Later, there were several independent pavilions. At this moment, the doors of these pavilions were open, candles were brightly lit inside, and they had already been searched once by the attendants.
Going deeper, after passing a moon gate, you will find the warehouse that the attendants mentioned. The buildings here are all used to store the materials needed for the store. Bo Ruoyou has doubts, so he After searching for a while, the warehouse seemed to have been cleaned again. Although there was cobweb dust on the window lattice, the floor was spotless.
The attendant brought the young man in, and the young man said: “On weekdays, only the owner and the shopkeeper can come in to this important warehouse. I don’t know if anything else has been put in it. But four or five days ago, this was The place has indeed been cleaned once. In previous years, this place was cleaned at the end of the year. This year is a bit strange, but there are many mice and cottonworms in the warehouse. Maybe it is for these reasons.”
The young man was frightened. He was afraid that Huo Weilou would reprimand and neglect him, and he was also afraid of saying something wrong and telling falsehoods, so he was quite cautious with his words. After hearing this, Huo Weilou looked at the sacks and boxes piled inside, knowing that even if there was any omission, Got cleaned up.
Bao Ruoyou couldn’t help but ask the boy, “On the day Master Song came, did he really have a pleasant conversation with your boss?”
The boy hesitated for a moment and said, “I don’t know if it counts, little man. When Mr. Song came, he first sat down in the Accord on the first floor, and then asked to see his boss. I don’t know what they said, so the two of them went to the backyard. There was no one in the backyard during the day. There were people waiting on me, and I didn’t know what they said, but after just a cup of tea, I saw Master Song coming out. There was no smile on his face, but he didn’t look angry either.”
“Does he look uncomfortable?” Bao Ruoyou asked again.
The boy tried hard to recall for a moment, with a bit of confusion on his face, “I can’t remember it. I just remember that it was after noon, and there were other guests at that time. I didn’t pay attention carefully…”
Bao Ruoyou knew in his heart that after having said so much, the young man would not lie in such a trivial matter, so he stopped asking any more questions. At this time, an attendant came quickly from outside, “Master Marquis, Wei Third Master is here!”
They had been here for less than half an hour, but Mr. Wei came very quickly, which showed that he was very anxious. Huo Weilou looked at Bo Ruoyou, and Bo Ruoyou said hurriedly: “Master Hou, please go, I want to go again.” Take a look.”
Huo Weilou asked the others to stay and protect him while he went to the front yard to see Wei San.
After Huo Weilou left, Bo Ruoyou stood alone in the warehouse and thought for a moment, then asked: “Where is the Accord where your Third Master usually stays?”
There are many pavilions in the backyard, some prepared for guests and some prepared for the host. The young man hurriedly led the way. The group left the warehouse and returned along the original road. Not long after, they arrived to the north of the atrium. Pointing to one of the rooms, “If the boss is here, it is here.”
Bao Ruoyou nodded and walked in with his attendants. The place had been searched. When he entered the house, he saw that it was decorated comfortably and elegantly, and there were many paintings, calligraphy, antiques and other exquisite items. The tea set was placed here, but it was still bright and clean. Bo Ruoyou knew that it would be difficult to find direct evidence, so he was a little disappointed.
Thinking that Mr. Wei had arrived, she did not stay much longer. When she turned around and came out, she saw two attendants who were responsible for searching other places walking over from the west of the backyard with strange expressions. When they saw Bo Ruoyou, their footsteps stopped. It’s a stop.
Bo Ruoyou stepped forward and asked, “What’s wrong? Did you find anything?”
A servant said: “I didn’t find anything related to the gold paste, but I found something unlucky.”
Bo Ruoyou stared, “What is it?”
The attendant hesitated and said: “I found the bodies of two dead cats in their kitchen backyard.”
The body of a dead cat?
Bo Ruoyou’s mind suddenly became tense, “Take me to see it!”
The two attendants naturally did not dare to be rude, so they turned around and led the way. Although this place was a teahouse, it also sold cakes, so there was a special kitchen yard. When Bo Ruoyou entered the courtyard, he saw several A cook stood a little uneasily in the yard, and when she saw more people coming, she became even more frightened.
The servant of the Marquis pointed to the direction of the back room of the kitchen, “That’s the dead cat body found in the corner over there.”
Bao Ruoyou walked towards the back room. A cook, who probably saw that she was a woman, came forward boldly and said in great fear: “Girl, gentlemen, these dead cats are from The wild cat that got into the dog hole in the back ate something and died, and it has nothing to do with us.”
Bo Ruoyou was even more surprised when he heard this. When he quickly walked to the back room, he saw several buckets placed outside the back room, and there were other kitchen waste piled next to the buckets. , because the weather is getting warmer now, and a sour stench permeates the air.
Bo Ruoyou asked: “Usually everything in your kitchen is dumped here?”
The cook nodded, and Bo Ruoyou’s expression became more serious. Ordinary wild cats have very strong vitality. Under normal circumstances, they will not die from poisoning after eating raw, cold, and rotten food. Either someone kills the cat intentionally, or they die from poisoning. They ate something highly poisonous.
Bao Ruoyou took two steps inside and saw at a glance the corpses of two civet cats lying deep in the corner. This was a blind corner, and there were some weeds and moss on the ground, which looked inconspicuous. Seeing this, the cook added: “It’s strange to say that more than one cat has died here in the past two days. We are so busy on weekdays that we don’t have time to collect these buckets. I didn’t expect another dead cat today… ”
Bao Ruoyou stepped forward and took a closer look at the bodies of the two cats. He frowned slightly and then stood up and asked her: “When was the body of the first dead cat?”
The cook looked at the dead cat body in the corner with disgust, then recalled it with a grimace for a moment, “It was six days ago.”
Bo Ruoyou’s pupils trembled slightly and he quickly asked: “Apart from the things in the kitchen, would the tea in your teahouse be poured here?”
The cook nodded, “Because the cups have to be cleaned here, the leftover tea that was delivered will also be poured together.”
When Bao Ruoyou heard this, his expression suddenly became serious.