Pei County
It was night and the lights were out. Looking down from the window of Xue Rui's room on the second floor, one could see the entire backyard.
The guards released the chef, Niu Er, who had caused trouble during the day, but confiscated his kitchen knife and gave him a warning.
Yu Shu stood by the window without lighting the lamp to ensure that the people outside could not see inside. She waited until the burly chef walked into the small room next to the kitchen with his head down. When the door was closed, she whispered,
"Is this the person who killed Censor Zhou Daren?"
"Yes, it's him." Xue Rui stood behind Yu Shu. The two of them watched the chef's performance in the dark.
"Then he's Prince Ning's man," Yu Shu muttered to herself and asked curiously, "How did this person cut off Zhou Daren's head under the eyes of the guards?"
The room was dark, but she was not afraid at all when she asked about the dead person. Xue Rui did not know whether he should praise her for being brave or not.
"Come here and we'll talk," Xue Rui closed the window with one hand and gently pulled her sleeve with the other, leading her away from the window.
The moonlight was blocked out by the window, making the room even darker. Yu Shu could not see clearly and instinctively grabbed his arm.
Xue Rui noticed and slowed down his steps. He led her to the table and helped her sit down first. Then he sat next to her and held her hand, not letting go.
"Niu Er will be peeping downstairs later. We won't light the lamp. Shu, you're not afraid of the dark, right?"
Yu Shu shook her head and then realized that Xue Rui could not see. She said softly, "I'm not afraid. Big Brother, tell me, how did Zhou Daren die?"
Because Xue Rui practiced martial arts, his hearing and eyes were sharper than an ordinary person's. Hence, he could see Yu Shu's face in the dark. Even though it was only a silhouette, he felt extremely at ease with her by his side. He was extremely confident, and it also became one hundred and twenty percent.
"That night, Zhou Qing stayed in this restaurant. According to the guards who accompanied him, he went back to his room after dinner and never came out again. The lights in his room only went out at midnight. Only one guard stayed in the corridor to keep watch. He went to the toilet around the fourth watch, and it was at this time that the murderer found the perfect opportunity to kill him."
Zhou Qing's itinerary had been kept a secret. Who would have thought that someone would dare to kill an imperial envoy so close to the capital? It was inevitable that they would let their guard down.
"The night guard had only been gone for the time it took to brew a cup of tea. According to the testimony of the guests on the same floor, no one heard any screams for help that night. Clearly, Zhou Qing had lost his head in his sleep. To be able to sneak into Zhou Qing's room in such a short time and deliver a fatal blow, chopping off his head, the murderer could only be a martial artist with extremely strong arms. "
Xue Rui was afraid that Yu Shu would feel uncomfortable, so he did not go into detail about the circumstances of Zhou Qing's death. The next morning, the guards found him dead in his room. Zhou Qing's headless body was wrapped in a thick quilt and stuffed under the bed. Brown-red human blood had soaked the quilt, and after it dried, it could not be removed.
"At first, I thought that the murderer would escape after the murder. I didn't expect him to be so bold as to stay in the restaurant. But after the autopsy, I found another detail in the room."
"What was it?"
She did not know if it was because the surroundings were too dark, but when Yu Shu listened to Xue Rui's story, she actually felt a little nervous. A chill ran down her spine. It was as if Zhou Qing's wronged spirit was still lingering in the restaurant, staring at them from a place they could not see, waiting for someone to avenge him.
Fortunately, she was not afraid when she heard Xue Rui's voice.
"The quilt wrapped around Zhou Qing's body was taken from the bottom of the cabinet in the room. The cabinets in the restaurant are usually sprinkled with camphor powder to prevent insects from eating them. But there were two bean elephants buried under the cabinet. They are small insects that like the smell of oil, and they have very sensitive noses. Zhou Qing's room was always clean and tidy, not to mention it was summer. No one would touch the thick quilt under the cabinet for no reason. So it could only be that the murderer left some traces when he was covering up the body, and that attracted these insects. "
"I think it's impossible for an assassin to kill people with greasy hands after eating alcohol and meat. Then it's very likely that the killer is inseparable from grease, and he has another identity to conceal himself so that it's convenient for him to commit the crime.
"So I began to suspect the chef of this restaurant, Niu Er. I went to the kitchen to take a look. The cutting board he used had a smooth and deep cut, which could not have been made with age. But the wood of the board was new, and it had been used for a month at most. So I knew that Niu Er was a martial artist, and he was used to using knives. His arm strength was very strong."
"As mentioned earlier, Zhou Qing's head was missing. I sent people to search around the restaurant, but they did not find it. Since the murderer was still in the restaurant, Zhou Qing's head must not be far away. So I ordered the guards to lock up the manager and the waiters of the restaurant, and then went to the kitchen cellar to search. Sure enough, I found the head in a pickle jar in the cellar. "
"Hiss …" Yu Shu sucked in a breath of cold air. Her stomach felt sour, and she thought to herself that when she went to other restaurants in the future, she would not dare to eat pickled or soaked food.
"If that's the case, why didn't you arrest him then?" Yu Shu could not figure out how Xue Rui found out that the murder was a trap, and why he did not solve the case immediately.
If it were her, she would have reported the results a long time ago. She would not be as cunning as him.
Xue Rui gently held Yu Shu's hand and said in a low voice, "At that time, I thought it was all too coincidental.
"At the time, I thought it was all too much of a coincidence. Zhou Qing happened to be staying in Pei County, and he happened to be staying in this restaurant. Coincidentally, there was a chef in the restaurant who was an assassin. Coincidentally, I found the bug in the wardrobe. Everything seemed to have been meticulously planned. The case was solved too easily, so I thought something was wrong."
When it came to solving cases, Xue Rui followed a sequence. Unlike other judges, he first believed in his intuition, and then looked for evidence. He would not be swayed by evidence and affect his judgment.
This habit had helped him solve several cases that gave the Supreme Court headaches. This time, it also helped him avoid falling into a trap.
"Now that you mention it, it's true." Yu Shu muttered, "How did Prince Ning know that Zhou Qing would stay in Pei County and arranged for an assassin in advance? Didn't you say that the chef had been working here for a few months? Then he couldn't have hired him at the last minute. But it was only half a month ago when His Majesty ordered Zhou Qing to go to Guangdong, and then he left."
Xue Rui answered her doubts.
"This is the best restaurant in Pei County. Any officials from the capital who pass by here will definitely choose this place to stay. I asked the guards who accompanied Zhou Qing. They ran into some trouble when they left the city, so their journey was delayed and they spent the night in Pei County. As for that Niu Er, don't underestimate Prince Ning. He has been plotting in the dark all these years, and even our Xue Residence has his eyes. Niu Er is just a chess piece he planted in advance, and it's just the right time to use him. "
Hearing this, Yu Shu could not help but sigh. Liu Hao's scheming was indeed beyond her imagination.
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