Early the next morning, as the morning light dawned, Liu Ruyan went out to inquire about the news.
It wasn't until dusk fell that she returned to the camp through the lingering clouds on the horizon.
She opened a curtain, and there was a faint fragrance of medicine inside. Angelica dahurica sat alone on the desk, her clothes trailing on the ground, just like the green lotus blooming alone in front of the Buddha.
However, when he heard the footsteps and turned his head, two black and blue groups on his eyelids made even Liu Ruyan startled.
Although I know that Brother Xiaobai has always studied hard and often stayed up late to read, he did not end up so haggard.
"You didn't close your eyes last night?" Liu Ruyan came closer.
Bai Zhi lowered her eyes under her gaze, her long eyelashes trembled slightly, and she turned her face uncomfortably.
There were no bronze mirrors in the camp, and he had no time to pay attention to his appearance: "I'm going to make you laugh, but I actually slept for a little while at night, but my sleep was not stable."
Compared to his trouble sleeping and eating, Liu Ruyan's smile was a little brighter and she comforted him: "The boat will be straight when it reaches the bridge. Brother, don't worry too much."
Bai Zhi sighed: "Bai is not talented. The prescription he recently prepared was very effective in the early stage of the epidemic, but the disease will still recur. I went through the febrile disease chapter of the medical classic "Waitai Secret Medicine" and read all the ancient and modern epidemic diseases. , the disease in Taiping Village is indeed difficult to treat."
"Is there a possibility that it is not an ordinary epidemic, but comes through other means, such as... birds?" As she spoke, she opened the package in her hand, revealing a semi-corrupted animal corpse.
Bai Zhi recognized it as a spotted chicken, which was very common in the village.
Liu Ruyan continued: "They were found under the river bed. Judging from the number, there should be no less than ten."
"Chicken plague?" Bai Zhi thought immediately, "But I have never heard that chicken plague can be transmitted to humans."
"The world is big and nothing is absolute. Brother Bai, don't you think it's strange that the infected villagers are isolated, but some people still get sick every day. In this case, the real source may be in the village."
She looked towards the village and could vaguely see the smoke from cooking fires.
"If it weren't for the common chicken plague, these poultry wouldn't be able to be kept." Bai Zhi stood up immediately, "This is a serious matter, so I'll go to the village to identify it again."
Liu Ruyan raised her hands and said with a faint smile: "Brother Bai, can you please stop by and tell the arrester that the female ghost is seeking her life and committing murder with the gangsters, and we will find out tonight."
There were less than 100 households in Taiping Village, so the soldiers acted separately, and the results were achieved within a day.
There was also a head catcher who came back with Bai Zhi.
Capt.
As soon as he came in, he looked at Liu Ruyan for a few times: "Are you a bad person?"
The so-called bad guys are small officials recruited from the private sector and informally established to assist the government in solving crimes.
Liu Ruyan shook her head.
Mr. Xing put down his sword and asked, "In your opinion, what is going on with this frightening female ghost asking for her life?"
Liu Ruyan sat down opposite him and said slowly: "This matter starts with Li Zheng taking a concubine. He fell in love with Yun Niang, a sesame-picking girl. As a result, Yun Niang was humiliated and was blamed for losing her virginity, but she swallowed her anger and did not do anything for it. Otherwise, it’s just for her only blood relative.”
Hearing this, Xing Baotou looked surprised: "Isn't Yun Niang an orphan? How can she be a blood relative?"
"Let me talk about this later." Liu Ruyan smiled calmly, "I believe that everyone here is more concerned about the origin of the epidemic."
She continued: "Shortly after Yun Niang passed away, Li Zheng's wife was pregnant with Liujia and gave birth to a baby boy."
"According to the custom of the village, Li was hosting a banquet for the village elders, and the food and wine at the banquet became the key to this case. As we all know, the epidemic was caused by external evils, and these villagers contracted the disease at the same time. According to the pathological characteristics
According to the cycle calculation, it is probably related to that family dinner."
"We have already checked the drinks, and we can rule them out first." As she said that, she wrote down a few dishes and handed them to Xing Baotou, "These are the names of the dishes at the family banquet at that time."
Xing Tian looked at them one by one and saw that they were all common vegetables and meats.
He has been exposed to some poisoning cases, and the most brilliant method is the interaction between food.
But there seems to be nothing wrong with these dish names.
"In your opinion, someone poisoned the food?" he asked tentatively.
"Although it's not poison, it's better than poison." Liu Ruyan pointed to one of the dishes.
"This..." Xing Tian became more and more confused.
In Youzhou, every cold winter, people cook food in clay pots. This dish is called "Antique Soup", so named because the food makes a "clunking" sound when it is put into the soup pot.
When cooking, place a layer of charcoal at the bottom of the pot, then scald the food with boiling water. When the meat slices are rolled, they can be picked up and eaten.
It tastes fresh and tender and is loved by everyone.
He couldn't see anything wrong with this ancient soup.
Liu Ruyan held the pen in her hand and used the sharp tip to outline a word, "bird".
Liu Ruyan looked at Bai Zhi aside: "Brother Bai has been to the village. How many villagers found chicken plague, and how many dead birds were thrown into the river?"
Bai Zhi thought about it carefully and pondered: "There are nine households with chicken plague. Rough calculation, fifty should have been drowned in the river."
"The number is right." Liu Ruyan nodded, "Except for the ten carcasses found at the bottom of the river, there are still forty missing. And there are twenty tables for the family banquet, and two birds will be presented on each table.
Meat……"
She described it lightly, while Xing Captou thought about it carefully.
Not to mention whether the plague chicken can be eaten, the body was fished out after being thrown to the bottom of the river.
I don't know how many people drowned in the river outside the village, and I don't know if what was served on the table that day, except poultry, contained mortal flesh.
Xing Tian finally said: "It's just your words, is there any evidence?"
"Guo Shiquan, who is under your custody, should know this. If you don't believe it, you can ask anyone in the village how the antique soup tasted compared to the usual taste at that day's family dinner?" Liu Ruyan said.
Xing Tian frowned deeply: "So, Li is the mastermind of this case."
"Yes and no. If he leaves the purchase to others, then he doesn't know anything about it."
As Liu Ruyan spoke, she tapped her index finger on the table: "What I want to say next is the key to this case."
"Last night, a gangster sneaked into the camp, waited for an opportunity to get the soldiers guarding outside the tent drunk, and killed them with one move. The soldier's neck was left with a wound about three inches deep and one and a half inches wide, almost penetrating the person's throat."
She raised her almond-shaped eyes slightly and looked at him calmly: "Xing has arrested countless criminals. He must know what kind of weapon can leave such a wound?"
Xing Tian was very familiar with all kinds of murder weapons. When he first heard the description, he immediately thought of the butcher knife used to kill pigs and sheep.
It can reach eight inches in length, has a wide body and a slightly curved tip.
He expressed his guess, but Liu Ruyan took out a knife and handed it over.
"If you were a murderer, how could you kill someone with this butcher knife?"
Xing Tian held the knife tightly and subconsciously swung it: "Wipe the neck, or stab it into the heart with the knife."
Liu Ruyan asked again: "Who is used to stabbing their necks with sharp knives?"
"Of course it's the butcher." He blurted out, then froze.
Liu Ruyan nodded: "Since the murderer brought the butcher's knife and liquor, he is obviously from the village. Capt. Xing might as well search for it. I'm sure he will gain something."
Xing Tian suddenly realized: "A family banquet requires killing pigs and sheep. Therefore, the butcher at the family banquet is the key to this case!"
He put down the butcher's knife and made the final decision.
"As for the rumors about female ghosts, I would like to ask Mr. Xing to come with me to the river." Liu Ruyan said.