When Shen Tiande said those shocking last words in Xu Zun's ear, Xu Zun was completely confused.
Before, he did wonder whether Mr. Shen would be related to the first iron coffin case?
But after talking to Mr. Shen, he had already put this idea behind him and no longer thought that Mr. Shen was hiding something.
Unexpectedly, Mr. Shen still didn't tell the truth.
Before he died, he finally told himself this shocking secret!
Mr. Shen is actually related to the first iron coffin case. It must be because of this that the fake Qiu Yongnian and others were attracted, right?
Too complicated!
Xu Zun was really going crazy, one case after another. He thought he could escape from the second iron coffin case, but unexpectedly, he fell into the quagmire of the first iron coffin case again.
Why did Mr. Shen participate in the iron coffin case?
Who were the 37 people who were killed?
What exactly is in the iron coffin?
"...the things in the iron coffin...are...in the...kitchen...your...put...put..."
By repeatedly pondering Duke Shen's last words, Xu Zun had already concluded that the kitchen should refer to his own home, not Shen's mansion.
Because, after being framed, Cai Kun had already sent people to search Shen's house several times. If something was hidden in the kitchen of Shen's house, it would have been discovered long ago.
It is really unexpected that Mr. Shen would hide such an important secret in his own home!
After identifying this clue, Xu Zun did not act rashly.
He suppressed his curiosity and went about the funeral in Shen Mansion.
Because Cai Kun and Chen Taiji had not left at that time, and people from the Internal Guard and the Ministry of Punishment were in Xinye County. If I acted rashly, it would be bad if they discovered it!
Cai Kun and others are not idle people, and they must have already considered that based on Shen Tiande's level alone, he would not be framed by someone with such elaborate calculations.
If he really had a grudge against Mr. Shen, wouldn't it be more satisfying to send an assassin over to assassinate him?
Therefore, the reason why Qiu Yongnian and others spent so much effort was probably to use the opportunity of blaming Shen Tiande to guide Cai Kun and others to search Shen's mansion, so as to achieve the purpose of exploring the iron coffin.
In other words, the fake Qiu Yongnian and others had already suspected that Shen Tiande was a participant in the first iron coffin case, but because they could not be sure, they committed the second iron coffin case.
No wonder they went to such great lengths to imitate an iron coffin and put it in Zhangqiao!
Xu Zun thought that with Cai Kun's experience and ability, they should have thought of this level.
So when they searched Shen's mansion, they searched very carefully, as if they really wanted to find something, right?
Now it seems that since they did not find what they wanted in Shen Mansion and Shen Tiande died unexpectedly, does it mean that their suspicion will no longer be aroused for the time being?
So, when Cai Kun and Chen Taiji left Xinye County, Xu Zun returned to his home to verify whether the mystery was really in his kitchen?
Previously, when Xu Zun was reported by the expose letter, Cai Kun was originally going to conduct a thorough search of Xu Zun's house.
But with the discovery of the underground secret room, Cai Kun had already turned his attention to solving the case, and naturally thought that there would be no more gains at Xu Zun's house.
Now that I think about it, if they continue to search, I'm afraid it will be difficult to escape the hole hidden under the kitchen stove, right?
Mr. Shen, Mr. Shen!
These last words of yours left me a big melon!
Looking at the hole that was about to open in front of him, Xu Zun kept beating in his heart, wondering if he could eat this melon? Or would he be unable to eat it?
well!
Never mind!
Xu Zun thought for a long time by the stove, and finally realized that it was impossible to overcome his curiosity.
No matter what was down there, even if he knew it was Pandora's box, he still had to go down there!
So, Xu Zun picked up the shovel and smashed it under the stove...
Why?
When the hole made a crisp sound, he discovered that there was a wooden board underneath.
After leaning most of the body down, I actually saw the latch!
After opening the latch and lifting the wooden board, Xu Zun realized that this was a hole that could be opened at any time!
oh……
Suddenly, some related memories appeared in Xu Zun's mind.
Butler Xiaoqi!
Xu Zun remembered that he had seen housekeeper Xiaoqi come in and out of the kitchen at midnight several times.
I used to think that he was busy cooking in the kitchen, but I didn't expect...
I click!
If your guess is correct, is the housekeeper Xiaoqi a member of Mr. Shen? Is he helping Mr. Shen keep an eye on the things below?
No way?
At first, when he saw Xiao Qi dead in the iron coffin in the secret room, Xu Zun thought that Xiao Qi was also a fake Qiu Yongnian.
Because the secret room was built underground in his own home, Xiao Qi was most likely their mole.
However, it was later confirmed by the iron coffin criminals that Xiao Qi was indeed not one of theirs. The fake Qiu Yongnian only killed Xiao Qi because he happened to meet You Dalang when he was placing his belongings.
For this reason, Xu Zun felt sad for Xiao Qi for a while, but he didn't expect that this Xiao Qi actually belonged to a third party and was not one of his own!
At this moment, it was completely dark outside, and it was even more difficult to see in the secret passage.
Xu Zun had no choice but to make a fire break and then carefully drilled into the secret passage.
Below the secret passage is a vertical ladder that goes straight up and down. Although you can't see clearly, it feels like there shouldn't be much space below.
After just a few steps along the vertical ladder, he entered a secret room similar to a cellar.
The secret room is oval in shape, with brick walls in some places and mud in other places. It seems that when this place was originally built, it was dug according to the cellar.
Boom... boom... boom...
The air was heavy and eerily quiet. Xu Zun could even hear his own heartbeat.
There was a strange smell in the secret room, a bit like the smell of some leftover food. There were some messy daily necessities on the floor, such as bowls, spoons, basins and linen.
This place...
Xu Zun frowned, and his curiosity suddenly faded a bit, because he felt that this kind of place did not look like it contained any treasures or rare things.
The secret room was not very big, so he quickly found an oil lamp and lit it directly.
As the oil lamp was lit, the secret room gradually became brighter, but Xu Zun found a small stove next to the oil lamp.
There are burnt coals in the stove. It seems that it was used for heating...oh...it seems...something's not quite right?
Xu Zun saw that there were triangular soldering irons, iron hooks, iron caltrops and other items placed on the stove...
Then I looked along the shelf on the side of the stove, and saw a lot of whips, iron pliers, files, saw blades, steel needles...
ah!!?
Xu Zun realized that something was wrong, and hurriedly turned around and looked into the depths of the secret room. At this glance, he was stunned with fear!
Because, he saw a picture that he could not guess even ten thousand times.
But I saw a set of iron frames standing deep in the secret room. In the middle of the frames, there was a person tied with four heavy chains, and she was also a woman!!!
ah!!?
Xu Zun was horrified when he saw it, and suddenly he remembered what the county magistrate Luo Wanwan once said:
The iron coffin from two years ago was not empty, but contained urine and feces...
