bayedsolid Chapter 33: Xiao Boy
Chapter 33: Xiao Boy
Several yamen runners moved the corpse aside and used shovels to separate the soil covering the ground and walls from the original walls.
After the mud was cleared, a hole suddenly appeared on the wall. The hole was not big, just enough for a child to pass through.
Looking at the edge of the hole, it seems to have been damaged by humans and is quite old.
There is a narrow path leading to the outside of the abandoned house at the entrance of the cave.
During this period, a lot of black datura flowers were dug out.
After seeing this, the common people were horrified. “The Underworld Flower! It’s the Underworld Flower! It must be the wronged soul coming here to cry out for justice!”
When he heard the words "Underworld Flower", a hint of fear appeared on his face.
Yang Hancai stepped forward and said, "I have heard of this underworld flower. It is a mandragora flower that likes warm environments and often blooms on the border of Northern Qi. Why does it appear here?"
Lin Lezhi's eyes darkened, and he looked at the decapitated corpse on the ground and said, "It seems that we need to go to the mass grave."
The abandoned house was not far from the mass grave. As soon as I arrived at the mass grave, I saw traces of the earth being dug up. There were ghost money scattered around, no less than the abandoned house, and copper coins with the words "the seventh year of Chengjing" everywhere.
The mass grave was littered with corpses, and the stench was unbearable in the hot summer. There were also some corpses that had just been thrown here, simply wrapped in straw mats, which was not a very pleasant smell.
A gust of wind blew, and some of the paper money that had fallen into the pit was blown out of the pit.
It was as if these copper coins and ghost money were born from the holes where corpses were buried.
The beggar at the side was so frightened that his legs and feet kept shaking. His face turned pale as he said, "This... This can't be, these withered bones crawling out of the grave by themselves."
The beggars and common people nearby also turned pale when they heard it.
The beggar who found the corpse immediately knelt down, facing the pit of bones, and said while kneeling and bowing: "You are a magnanimous person. I have no grudge against you. I was just greedy for money. Please don't bother me. I... I will burn more paper money for you in the future. Please let me go... let me go."
After saying this, he did not forget to pour out all the copper coins in his purse, and said tremblingly: "This is all the money I have, I will give it all to you, all to you!"
Lin Lezhi squatted down, patted the beggar and said, "Don't be afraid. The only person who can do such a thing is a human, not a ghost."
Lin Lezhi pointed at the pit in front of him and said, "Look, the burial place of the bandits is not far from the hole, but it is not close either. Unless someone deliberately picked the bones and placed them under the corpses, it would be impossible for them to appear in the abandoned house."
Hearing this, the beggar immediately grabbed Lin Lezhi's hand and begged with tears in his eyes: "Please, Master Jiang, you must solve this case, otherwise people like us will really have nowhere to go!"
"Don't worry, I will do my best."
"Thank you, Mr. Jiang. Thank you, Mr. Jiang. Our whole family depends on you."
After he finished speaking, all the refugees behind him knelt down.
Lin Lezhi sighed softly, then walked up to Yang Hancai and bowed, saying, "Prefect Yang, these people probably won't dare to return to the abandoned house until the case is solved. I wonder if you can find some temporary accommodation for them to stay in for a while."
Yang Hancai cast his eyes towards Xiao Yihuo. After seeing Xiao Yihuo nod, Yang Zhifu immediately said, "I will send someone to do it right away. I will make sure that all these people have a place to live before sunset tonight."
The people said one after another: "Thank you, King Linnan, thank you, Governor Yang!"
Lin Lezhi helped the beggar up from the ground and asked, "What's your name, brother?"
The beggar was obviously a little embarrassed, and he couldn't even smile. He said with a smile: "My last name is not important to us. Everyone calls me Xiaopeng. Mr. Jiang can call me that, too."
From the mass graves, back to the government office, Lin Lezhi followed behind with his head down in deep thought. Xiao Yihuo walked to Lin Lezhi's side and said, "Lian'an, what are you thinking about?"
Xiao Yihuo's words interrupted Lin Lezhi's thoughts. Lin Lezhi paused, raised his head and said, "Nothing, I was just wondering... who could transport the corpse to the abandoned house without being discovered."
"There is a hole in the wall that looks quite old. The size of the hole is just enough for the corpse to pass through. Is it possible that the corpse was not brought in from inside the abandoned house, but from outside, so as to avoid the people in the abandoned house?"
Lin Lezhi thought about it and responded, "What you said makes sense."
Yang Hancai, who was walking in front, turned around, looked at Xiao Yihuo and Lin Lezhi and said, "Your Majesty, Young Master Jiang, the mansion is just ahead. You can go to your room and rest for a while. I will send someone to bring you the book records from thirteen years ago."
Lin Lezhi stopped him and said, "Don't bother the brothers in the mansion. I can go over there myself."
"This..." Yang Hancai's eyes fell on Xiao Yihuo, and he said with some embarrassment: "The place where the books are stored has not been cleaned for a long time. Your Majesty is not feeling well, and I am afraid that I will affect your health. Otherwise... Your Majesty, you can stay in the room and rest."
Xiao Yihuo smiled and said, "It's okay. I can stay outside the house and not go in. Just prepare a chair for me."
Seeing Xiao Yihuo's firm attitude, Yang Hancai was too embarrassed to say anything else, so he could only bite the bullet and respond, "Okay, I'll do it right away."
Yang Hancai found a cool place where the books were stored, placed a chair and provided some top-quality tea. He poured a cup for Xiao Yihuo and said respectfully, "Your Highness, please enjoy. I'll go in and clean up the books for you and bring them out for you."
Xiao Yihuo hummed softly and said, "Thank you for your help."
"Your Majesty, your words are serious."
Lin Lezhi went into the place where the books were kept early in the morning to look for the personnel movement records from thirteen years ago.
Although Changluan County is not large, it has an unusually large population. There are dozens of records of population movement alone, especially in recent years.
It would probably take some time to check them one by one.
Seeing Yang Hancai coming in, Lin Lezhi casually took a few books from the bookshelf, handed them to Yang Hancai without even looking at the cover, and said, "Take these out to the prince."
“Okay.” Yang Hancai took it, but showed no intention of leaving.
Lin Lezhi closed the useless book, looked at Yang Hancai and asked, "Does Magistrate Yang have anything else to say?"
"This..." Yang Hancai hesitated for a moment, glanced in the direction of Xiao Yihuo, and then lowered his voice and said, "I have something I want to ask Master Jiang."
Lin Lezhi smiled and responded, "Whatever you ask, please feel free to ask, Governor Yang."
Yang Hancai glanced at Xiao Yihuo outside the door again. Seeing that Xiao Yihuo had no intention of looking into the house, he whispered, "I heard from the village chief Ji of Yulong Village that there is another young man named Xiao in Yulong Village who is helping Mr. Jiang investigate the case of the missing bride. I wonder where that young man is now?"
Outside the door, Xiao Yihuo, who was sitting on a tea chair and drinking tea, moved his ears imperceptibly.