PDLP Chapter 148 Starved to death
Chapter 148 Starved to death
Qing Shu was confused: "What does this symbol mean?"
Feng Jia looked at it for a while and realized that this might be the key to solving the problem, but he didn't understand its meaning. He said to Qing Shu, "It's just a random scribble."
After all, this is "her" box. Wouldn't it arouse suspicion if she said she didn't know?
Qingshu nodded without asking any more questions. He took the box into the house and put it away as Feng Jia asked. Feng Jia still lay in the yard, watching the wisteria flowers fall in the wind.
A furtive shadow was reflected on the courtyard wall. Feng Jia lowered her eyes slightly and saw a blue figure in a brocade robe standing in the corner, secretly looking inside.
She wiped the water marks on the table with her hand and smiled.
"Twelfth brother, are you here to see me?"
Xie Zhengchu's little body shook, and he was about to run out. He ran a few steps and stopped, hesitating. Finally, he ran into Feng Jia's yard, bowed obediently, and shouted, "Ninth sister, how are you?"
Xie Zhengchu was no more than ten years old, short and fat like a small stone pillar, with big eyes, fair skin, and a cute appearance.
Feng Jia did not dislike this twelfth brother at all. She looked at him with a smile and asked, "Does your tooth hurt anymore?"
Xie Zhengchu subconsciously covered his left cheek, and then he thought of something, and his expression relaxed a little, and his voice was sweet: "It doesn't hurt anymore, thank you, Sister Nine!"
A few days ago, Xie Zhengchu was in excruciating pain from tooth replacement and refused to see a doctor. He happened to meet Feng Jia in the garden, and she used a folk remedy to pull out his old tooth. Since then, Xie Zhengchu has been a little attached to her and would sneak into her apricot garden whenever he got the chance.
"Didn't Fourth Aunt ask you not to have more contact with me?"
"They are them, and I am me." Xie Zhengchu's little head was full of confusion. He didn't know why his mother and sister didn't like his ninth sister. His ninth sister was obviously pretty and generous. She often brought him small toys and played hide-and-seek with him.
Xie Zhengchu raised his neck, very proudly: "Besides, I ran away secretly, my mother didn't find out, and the maids didn't find out either!"
Feng Jia threw away the fan, walked over, and pinched Xie Zhengchu's chubby cheeks with a bit of amusement: "Okay, you are smart, what do you want to play today?"
"Hide and seek! How about I hide and sister find me?"
After getting permission, Xie Zhengchu skipped to Li Courtyard. After Feng Jia finished counting, Qingshu went to look for him. In fact, he already knew where he was hiding, but he teased him by looking here and there. When he came to the cabinet where Xie Zhengchu was hiding, it was right under his nose. Qingshu could even see through the gap that a corner of Xie Zhengchu's azure robe was stuck out. He walked over with a stifling smile, but did not open the cabinet door.
Finally, seeing that the time was almost up, Qingshu "accidentally" found Xie Twelve. Xie Twelve had a great time and walked towards Feng Jia happily, asking for candy.
Feng Jia gave it to him, and Xie Twelve ate the candy happily. Qing Shu couldn't help laughing at him: "Young Master, this apricot garden is so big, there is no place you can't hide, why do you hide in that cabinet every time?"
Xie Twelve's eyes were filled with pride: "You don't understand this, right? It's because I have hidden there before, so when you came to find me, you must have thought that I had already hidden there once and it was impossible for me to hide there again, right?"
Qingshu nodded seriously, "Young Master, what you said makes a lot of sense."
Xie Twelve raised his head higher and higher.
"But you either showed one foot or one arm, or you stuck a corner of your robe in the gap of the bookcase, and it would be difficult for me to find it!" Qingshu burst out laughing and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes.
Xie Twelve's face turned red because of her smile. He clenched his fists, thinking that he must hide better next time!
Feng Jia couldn't help laughing, but just as her eyebrows curved, they froze.
"What did you just say?"
Xie Twelve was confused: "I said, I hid there before, so next time they look for me they won't expect me to still be hiding there."
Feng Jia's eyes suddenly opened.
It drizzled again in the evening. Feng Jia waited until the lights in Xie Qian's study were turned off before hiring a carriage from the back door and heading west. Qingshu did not know martial arts, and Song Huai was sent to Luoyun County by her, so she went alone this time.
The lights in Gu's private school were on at this moment. The black lacquered door was wide open and guarded by strict guards on both sides. Two guards in uniforms from the Dali Temple Patrol Battalion held up torches, and the light shone on Feng Jia's face. The man recognized her and led her in with a smile.
Passing through the nine-curve corridor and then the deep path, the originally quiet well was now surrounded by soldiers. The weeds that were more than half a person's height were trampled to one side by the crowd, and the air was mixed with the scent of grass and soil. However, the closer one got to the wellhead, the stronger the stench of rotten meat became.
Shi Xun was still wearing the same scarlet official uniform, standing tall and graceful in front of everyone, with a slightly frown on his face.
"Coroner Xu" stood behind him, still looking old and frail.
Seeing Feng Jia coming over, Shi Xun's frown relaxed a little: "It seems that Miss Nine and you have the same idea."
These words were spoken to Li Yunyu.
Li Yunyu looked at the woman in green with his eyes slightly lowered, and there was no change on his face.
Seeing this scene, Feng Jia knew that he and they had the same idea, so he just nodded slightly and walked to the well.
Standing at the mouth of the well and looking down, she saw that someone had already gone down to investigate. The light from two torches could only illuminate half an inch below her feet. The stench of corpses rose up in waves, and it was very pungent. Even with a scarf covering her face, it could not be concealed.
In this situation, Feng Jia probably knew the outcome, but she still asked unwillingly: "Miss Zhou..."
Shi Xun stood beside her and shook his head: "You're a step too late."
Feng Jia's eyes darkened slightly.
The Dali Temple and Jingzhao Prefecture sent so many people, almost turning the capital upside down, but they couldn't find Zhou Muqi. If Zhou Muqi was really the one who killed Lu Qin, then where would the murderer hide Zhou Muqi? Where would he hide without being discovered? Xie Zhengchu's words in the afternoon reminded her.
In the well.
Because Lu Qin died in the well, the murderer may have hidden her in the abandoned well.
The reason why she couldn't be found was because Zhou Muqi had never stepped out of Gu's private school.
As Zhou Muqi's stinking corpse was pulled up, Feng Jia received a task reminder, telling her that she had found Zhou Muqi's body, and the task completion rate jumped to 30%.
In less than half an incense stick of time, Zhou's parents rushed over after hearing the news. Mr. Zhou had only one daughter in his old age. Their faces, which had originally held a glimmer of hope, finally turned dead silent the moment they saw Zhou Muqi's body, and Mrs. Zhou fainted from crying on the spot.
Shi Xun suggested dissecting the body, but Zhou's father refused. His pale face was filled with anger, and he sent his servants to take Zhou Muqi's body back: "My Zhou family is also a famous and prestigious family! My daughter died tragically, can't she rest in peace after death? Must she be disemboweled?!"
"Master Zhou, I understand your feelings, but Miss Zhou is also involved in another case, and the murderer is still at large. If the body can be dissected, we will definitely be able to find clues to prevent the murderer from harming others again! I hope Master Zhou will understand."
"I don't forgive! My daughter is dead, how can I forgive her!" Zhou's father was furious, "Searching for the murderer is your Dali Temple's business! What does it have to do with me! What does it have to do with my Qi'er? Dare you touch my daughter today! Shi Xun, don't think that I am afraid of you just because you have the support of the young minister!"
It turns out that Shi Xun is the young minister’s man, Feng Jia thought.
Zhou Langyi stared: "Even if the Seventh Prince comes, I'm not afraid!"
The Young Minister is the Seventh Prince’s man. This was known in the previous life. It is not useful information, Feng Jia thought to himself.
The Zhou family servants raised their sticks, as if they would rush over and kill Shi Xun as long as he moved a little. The Dali Temple's attendants were not there to sit around and do nothing either, so they drew their swords and confronted him, creating a tense atmosphere.
Under the heavy torches, Feng Jia walked out from the crowd in a green dress. The dancing flames were imprinted in her black and white eyes, with a hint of loneliness and awe.
She cupped her hands and said, "Master Zhou, do you want Miss Zhou to die in vain?"
Zhou Langyi looked at the woman in blue clothes and a white scarf in front of him. He felt that the woman's eyebrows and eyes looked familiar, but he couldn't recognize her for a moment. He was furious and a little surprised: "Who are you?"
"It doesn't matter who I am. What matters is that if the murderer of Miss Zhou is allowed to go unpunished, Miss Zhou may not be able to rest in peace in her grave."
"Don't use my daughter's name as an excuse..."
"Does your Excellency know how your daughter died?"
Zhou Langyi was stunned.
Feng Jia said, "The coroner just checked and found that Miss Zhou was thrown into the well and her legs were broken, so she couldn't save herself. Her tongue was also cut off, so she couldn't call for help and was discovered. The body was extremely emaciated, with sunken cheeks and bulging eyeballs, like a skeleton. Miss Zhou... was starved to death."
Zhou Langyi's body swayed and he almost fell to the ground in disbelief.