The Famous Detective of the Red Mansion

Chapter 3: Twists and Turns

A group of twenty-two cavalry riders, watched by hundreds of officers and soldiers of the Qian Xiang country, rushed across the street in high spirits and then continued to run more than half the street. Sun Shaozong was able to rein in the reins.

"Lieutenant!"

Feng Xin came up to Sun Shaozong in high spirits, provoked a big thumbs up, and said, "These subordinates listened to you well, I'm convinced now. I'm afraid your courage is no less than that of the old General Chen, the Duke of Qi“

Chen Yi, the Duke of Qi, was a famous general and the founder of the Great Zhou Dynasty. He was one of the four kings and eight princes. His most prominent achievement in his life was that he led the army to occupy the state of Qian Xiang.

It was said that at that time, he only used 30,000 soldiers and horses to defeat the 160,000 troops of the Qian Xiang country. Therefore, even today, mentioning the name of Chen Yi in the Qian Xiang country can still let the people feel its authority.

"Don't flatter me!"

Sun Shaozong gave him an angry look and said, "If there were no Zhuyu, the Duke of Qi, do you think we could come out smoothly?"

To tell the truth, Sun Shaozong was also very worried. If the other party insisted on not making way, he would have to withdraw from the embassy.

Fortunately, he won the bet after all!

"My Lord, although the Duke of Qi is ahead of you, you are not bad either..."

"Shut up!"

After interrupting Feng Xin's flattery, Sun Shaozong gave an order in his deep voice, "Feng Xin, take half of your troop to Ruan Wenhao's house. I'll take the rest of my brothers to Ruan Liangshun's house first."

"Ah?!"

Feng Xin was stunned and doubted, "My Lord, that was the spy who poisoned you. Don't you want to avenge yourself?"

"Why do you have so much nonsense? Just do it!"

Sun Shaozong gave an impatient reprimand, and then, according to the impression in his memory, he took half his subordinates and went straight to Ruan Liangshun's residence.

Ruan Wenhao has been away from the embassy for more than half a day. As long as he was not an idiot, he will not stay at home. Sun Shaozong used to talk about Ruan Wenhao in the embassy just to boost his morale.

At present, the focus was actually on Ruan Liangshun.

Not to mention that this was the first crime scene, there may be many clues hidden here. Just because Ruan Liangshun was the Magistrate, it was worth it that Sun Shaozong was visiting personally.

Don't forget, the embassy guards were all from the Great Zhou Dynasty. They were not familiar with the situation of the Qian Xiang Kingdom and Qinglin mansion. The easiest way to find out this case as soon as possible was to cooperate with local forces.

Ruan Liangshun, the governor of Qinglin Prefecture, was undoubtedly the best choice at present.

First of all, the case happened at the wedding banquet of his sequel, which ruined a happy event. He was also involved. He was the biggest victim except for Niu Yongxin, so he should not be much suspected.

Secondly, as the prefect of the Qinglin mansion, he was a proper local leader. He has a large number of constable and Yamen servants under his command, which was convenient to help search for assassins.

That's why Sun Shaozong wanted to go to Ruan's residence first.

—Dividing Line—

However, there was a saying that “The plan can not keep up with the change”. Although Sun Shaozong's analysis was clear when he arrived at the Ruan mansion, he encountered an unexpected accident. Ruan Liangshun has been taken to the central judicial office awaiting trial!

At least, he was also the mayor of the capital.

Do you want to catch him so hastily?!

"Steward Ruan!"

Sun Shaozong asked, "Where are the bodies of our Lord Niu and those assassins?"

"It has been carried away, it's all gone."

The old housekeeper seemed to have a piece of bitter melon in his mouth and sighed vaguely, "The corpses of ambassador Niu and the guards were transported to the ritual department for convergence, and the corpses of the assassins were sent to the Ministry of Justice."

Shit!

Is this a “dismemberment”?

Sun Shaozong scolded in his heart and insisted, "Can we go to the scene and have a look? If we can, we should ask the people who were there for a few words.”

"They’ve all been taken away."

The bitter gourd in the old housekeeper's mouth seemed to have grown a lot bigger. It made people afraid that he might accidentally bite his tongue. "Except for the lady in the backyard, there are few people left in the house. Even my two sons in charge have been taken to the lobby of the Ministry of Justice."

As he spoke, there were signs of old tears.

The old housekeeper had originally retired to provide for the aged at home, but now there was no one in the house to take charge of the family, so he had to come out again.

Sun Shaozong was so depressed that he finally had to ask the old housekeeper to lead the way to the scene where Niu Yongxin was assassinated. But the scene was first trampled by guests and then surrounded by the central judicial officials, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of Rites. It had long been destroyed.

In addition, everything related to the case had been taken back to the Ministry of Justice, so Sun Shaozong had to spend more time carefully investigating, but he was stunned that there weren't any clues at all.

When he left the Ruan mansion with disappointment, Feng Xin had already hurried over and was not surprised to see him rushing into the empty space.

So Sun Shaozong stood in front of the gate of the Ruan mansion and looked around blankly. For a moment, he didn't know where to go.

"My Lord."

Although Feng Xin threw himself into the empty space, he still had a little spirit left in his heart. He came up and bit his teeth and said fiercely, "Why don't we try to break into the lobby of the Ministry of Justice again? I don't believe it. Soldiers will not dare to stop us. Can several Yamen guards still have such courage?!"

"That's easy for you to say."

Sun Shaozong sighed and said helplessly, "What's the use of breaking in? Do you know where to look for clues? Do you know where the body is? Do you know where the witness is? When the time comes, just a few words of a lie will be enough for us to return without success."

Feng Xin was dumbfounded when he heard this. More than 20 people stared at each other in the street. They didn't speak for a while.

Putong~

At that moment, there was a muffled noise not far away. All the people followed the sound and looked over, but it was a “servant” in green clothes and a small hat, who came out from the Ruan mansion. The reason why we had to put a quotation mark on the word ”servant” was that, as long as we had eyes, we could see that this man was a pretty girl!

The girl climbed over the wall and ran excitedly to the front of the crowd. With a sweep of her big watery eyes, she locked her eyes on Sun Shaozong, opened her mouth, and asked, "Are you Lieutient Sun of the Great Zhou Embassy?"

She came for him!

Sun Shaozong raised his eyebrows, nodded, and said, "Yes, I'm Sun Shaozong. Do you have any advice?"

"It's far from giving advice."

The young girl didn't seem to know that she had already exposed herself. She said in a sullen voice, "My father, Ruan Liangshun, the magistrate of Qinglin, is now in custody in the central judicial office. I heard from the old housekeeper that you seem to be investigating the assassination case just now. How about we join hands? You take revenge and I will help my father clear away his grievances!"

Before Sun Shaozong spoke, Feng Xin, who was standing by, began to sneer. He glanced back and forth at Ruan Gu and said, "Come on! We men still have no clue. You, a little girl, dare to talk big here."

"What's wrong with being a girl? How do you know I can't help you?!"

Ruan Gu shouted angrily and did not pretend anymore. Her voice became clear and sweet.

Feng Xin had to make a few more sarcastic remarks, but Sun Shaozong pushed him aside.

"Miss, don't pay attention to this guy."

Sun Shaozong saluted Ruan Gu deeply and asked for advice seriously, "How are you going to help us find out the truth?”

"Well... This..."

After being treated so seriously by Sun Shaozong, Ruan Gu became a little flustered and hesitated for a few words before finally saying what she wanted to say, "Li Jiuming, Chief Constable of the Ministry of Justice, was promoted by my father in those years. He is also one of the handlers of this case. I can take you to him for help!"

When they heard that Ruan Gu could help introduce the Chief Constable of the Ministry of Justice, the guards, including Feng Xin, were all overjoyed. They had long forgotten their contempt for others.

But Sun Shaozong frowned and questioned, "Since the investigators have had a long relationship with your father, why do you need to cooperate with us? Everything will be in place as long as the Ministry of Justice finds out the truth."

Ruan Gu pouted and said angrily, "Although Uncle Li is a good man, Huang Shilang of the Ministry of Justice is my father's nemesis! If we don't find out the truth as soon as possible, what if that guy gets in the way?!"

This reason…

It makes sense.

"Well, first of all, I wish us a happy cooperation!"