The businessman was indeed frightened, so he whispered: "My name is Chen Kang, and this is my brother Chen Jian. We want to buy some defective colored glaze from the caravan going east here, repair it, and then sell it to the mainland. In the past, there would be at least a few groups of caravans every ten days, but recently there have been a lot fewer. We have been waiting here for three days and still haven't received a group. We planned to wait until tomorrow if we can't wait, but we didn't expect to encounter this unlucky thing. .”
"Why don't you trade in the market? Has anyone proven that you were always in the house?" Shen Yan asked.
The two brothers pointed at each other to show that they could prove each other. The younger brother Chen Jian said again:
"I went to the hut once. Oh, the hut is in the south. Guard Bai can prove it. The murdered bodyguard hadn't come yet. As for why he didn't trade in the market, sir, you should know. Now we are checking the tax. These defective products are taxed on a per-unit basis. If we go to the market to buy them, after they are patched up, the selling price will not be enough to cover the tax. It is not easy for the Persians to come all the way, so we just take advantage of the opportunity. Save a little money before you get smashed, Mr. Shen, as long as you let us go, you will be the honored guest of our Ganzhou Chenji Liuli Shop!"
"Are they regular customers?" Shen Zhenfu secretly thought in his mind. The selling price of this glass is not low. It is not impossible to get a deal from them. However, he was not in the mood now, so he looked at the innkeeper coldly. Ask questions.
The shopkeeper hurriedly said: "Yes, yes, I have been coming every month for the past six months."
"Are your windows closed or open? Have you seen the situation in the North Courtyard when the incident occurred?" Shen Zhenfu continued to ask the Chen brothers.
"Well... we were shocked at the time. After hearing someone breaking the window, we did open a little window and looked out. We saw the white guard had just climbed over the wall and walked out. There seemed to be a black shadow further away, and not long after, two more People jumped out." Chen Jian said.
Shen Yan hummed and pointed to the two people in the upper room to the west. They were an old man in his fifties and a strong man in his thirties. He Qizhou had seen the old man when he rushed to the west door of the second floor.
The old man was self-conscious and said to Shen Yan: "My name is Yu Qun, and he is my son Yu Li. We are working for Mr. Zhang. Recently, a batch of goods entered the customs. Because Yelangling is not peaceful, the master arranged for us to take care of it. .”
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it turns out that Brother Yu belongs to Fourth Master Zhang." Shen Yan's attitude immediately improved, but he added: "I heard that after the Zhang family pushed General Han up, it took only a few months for him to lose everything." Tragic, right?”
"We subordinates just listen to the orders from our superiors and don't dare to interfere with other matters." Yu Qun said calmly. It was obvious that what Shen Yan said was indeed true.
Shen Yan asked again: "Are Brother Yu and your son always in the room? Have you heard anything? Or seen anything?"
Yu Qun said: "We were already in the room when the white guard sent someone to check our identities, and we never went out. Oh, it wasn't until there was a noise in the middle room that I came out to take a look. When you rushed up with a few people, oh, I also saw brother Chen Kang from the east also opened the door and came out."
"Did you open the north window?"
The old man's son replied: "It's open. After the middle window was broken, I happened to be in the inner room. I heard the noise and wanted to go out to take a look. Halfway through, I heard the sound of the broken window, so I turned back and opened the window to check. It only took four or five breaths from the time I heard the sound of the broken window to the time I opened the window. After opening the window, I found that the soldier sitting on the wall was missing, and the guard in charge of the soldier had just climbed over the wall. Apart from the black figure, I didn't see anything. , everything else is the same as what Brother Chen said. Maybe the direction of the black shadow's escape was a bit to the east, so I didn't notice it."
Shen Yan murmured: "You can still run forty or fifty feet in four or five breaths despite being so seriously injured. Guard Bai really can't catch up!" Because when he looked out of the north window, he could at least see it. The figures more than forty feet away were more wary of the father and son, because they were not weak in cultivation and had long discovered that there were soldiers on duty in the north.
Then the finger pointed at He Qizhou, who was shocked and said: "I rushed up as soon as I heard the sound. Didn't you see it yourself? Then you were worried that the soldiers on the rooftop rushed up from the west gate. You also saw the ground on the ground. He was bleeding and has been dead for at least a while, how could it be possible that I killed him?"
Shen Yan said: "I'm asking you if you have ever left the room before?"
"Shortly before escort leader Yu arrived, I went to the front yard to get water, washed my face, and chatted with Guard Bai for a few words. Then I heard escort leader Yu arrive just as I returned to the room," He Qizhou said.
"Then have you ever opened the window and gone out?"
"No."
"What are the two soldiers doing in your room?"
"Sleeping soundly."
"Who is in the same room with him?" Shen Yan looked at the soldiers around him.
The two responded respectively, and one of them said: "When we were awakened by the noise upstairs, we saw Brother Zhou rushing out of the door, and we hurriedly ran up."
"What was he doing before?"
"He went out and said he was going to wash up. We don't know when he came back. Maybe we fell asleep after he went out," the soldier said.
"Who are the soldiers who live in the second room to the east and the soldiers in the second room to the west?" Shen Zhenfu continued to ask.
Four soldiers stepped forward and said they fell asleep as soon as they entered the room until they were awakened by the noise.
Then came the three guys, who proved to each other that they had never left the house or opened the window. After Shen Zhenfu finished questioning, he looked around, then pointed at He Qizhou and the five people in the room and said: "The snoring of the four soldiers is like It was like thunder. Fang Ting and I were sure that they had not left the house. In addition, I wanted to believe that the three guys were not lying, because the room was in the northwest corner. Apart from a window facing the hall, this room did not have a window leading to the north courtyard, so, The person who killed the soldiers on the rooftop and the north wall could only be one of the five of you! Or two!"
"Maybe it was the assassin who did it? My lord, didn't you say that his Qinggong was good? You can't just accuse someone casually?" Chen Kang complained anxiously.
Shen Zhenfu expressed his judgment:
"Nonsense! If the assassin wants to get close to the north wall, he will be discovered if he is only 40 to 50 feet away. I have never seen an expert who can kill silently from 40 to 50 feet away! Also, even if the soldiers on the wall are shot to death Yes, the soldiers on the stage could have noticed it just by turning around that day, and they would definitely have warned them! They are all the personal guards of the Commander-in-Chief, do you think they are ordinary guards?
Therefore, it can only be that someone in the inn sneaked up to the rooftop and killed the soldier with one blow while he was looking around. Because he was afraid that he would scream, he slit his throat with a knife from behind. This person was either a person familiar to the soldier. , or a master who is at least two pulses higher than the guard! Judging from the bleeding condition of the guard, he must have been killed just now. The most likely time of the crime was when escort leader Yu entered the room after talking to us.
After the insider noticed that everyone had entered the house, he immediately jumped out from the north window, then stood on the north wall and waited for the soldier to turn around and hit him. Then he turned back and sneaked to the north wall quietly, killing the soldiers on the wall and leading the wall. The assassin entered the North Courtyard and finally returned to his room through the window. At this time, Guard Yu and Guard Bai happened to enter Mrs. Han's guest room!
The dagger that assassinated the two soldiers is still stuck in the heart of the soldier on the north wall. This was also intentional by the assassin. It is too dangerous to carry the murder weapon with him, so it is better to discard it, and the blood will not be stained on his clothes."
Escort Yu's apprentice said anxiously: "Master Shen, then who is the murderer?"
"It's you!" Shen Yan suddenly pointed his finger at He Qizhou and shouted sternly, startling many people in the hall.
He Qizhou actually agreed with Shen Yan's idea, but of course he knew that he was not the insider, so he asked calmly: "It's definitely not me. Why do you make such a conclusion?"
"Then I will tell you and teach you to confess earlier!" Shen Yan said with a proud smile. When the white guard upstairs heard that Shen Yan had made a conclusion, he hurriedly left the room and went to the corridor in front of the guest room on the second floor to be on guard. .
He Qizhou smiled bitterly and said, "Okay, I'm all ears."
Shen Yan said: "The Chen brothers are regular customers in the store, so their appearance here is not considered premeditated."
He Qizhou pointed to the Yu family and his son beside him and asked, "What about them?" He Qizhou felt that the father and son were the most suspicious.
"Of course they are also suspects, but there is one condition that only you meet, and the four of them don't."
"How do you say this?" He Qizhou asked.
"The internal agents and the outside assassins can calculate the time accurately, so there must be a connection between them. Moreover, the internal agents must know that escort leader Yu is coming, so they have made preparations in advance. The four of them have been in the inn and have no way of knowing that escort leader Yu is coming. The head will come over.
And you, not only did you inform us that escort leader Yu would be coming, but you also arrived at the inn before us, and you had already made an agreement with the assassin on the way. In the inn, you used the excuse of washing up to figure out the defense of the white guard. , so the one who is most likely to take action is you!"
Shen Yan's reasoning was very reasonable. After hearing this, the people around He Qizhou dispersed with a roar, while the apprentice of escort leader Yu drew his sword and pointed it at He Qizhou.
He Qizhou hurriedly waved his hand to him and said: "Don't be anxious, don't be anxious, let me explain a few more words." Seeing that the other party did not attack directly, he continued: "In that case, why didn't we kill escort leader Yu on the way? Woolen cloth?"
"This is exactly where you made a miscalculation. You never took their masters and apprentices seriously, you just used them to protect your identity, but you didn't expect that Master Yu is a rare master in our Ganzhou City!" Shen Yan said.
"Then why should I heal Mrs. Han again?" He Qizhou asked.
"This is easier to understand. Mrs. Han's injury is not fatal. Wouldn't it be easier to take action after gaining her trust? Maybe you are more ambitious now and are ready to sneak into General Han's side? Little brother, look at your age "Qing Qing, you have four meridians of skill now. If you are guilty and meritorious now, I will find a way to save your life." Shen Yan said.
He Qizhou shook his head and said: "Wrong, wrong, that person is not me."