Strange Tales from the Northern Qi Dynasty

Chapter 67 The Fifth Guest

The candlelight flickered, distorting the figures of several people.

Changsun Jiaye sat in the upper seat with a gloomy face. Under the light of the candle, his face kept changing, like an evil ghost.

"Old man Lu accused his own son of murdering everyone."

"Lu Zhanshan has not spoken a word until now."

"In the richest area of ​​the county, thirteen people died at the banquet, and one person escaped injured."

"But we don't know who did it?"

Changsun Jiaye looked at Liu Taozi beside him, his face full of disbelief, "We can tell who killed whom on the battlefield, where are you?"

The eldest grandson, who had just returned from the army for the first time, couldn't understand what was happening.

Is this still under the Emperor's feet?
Liu Taozi looked calm. He said, "I sent people to inquire around."

"They kept this banquet a secret and didn't tell anyone else. There were other servants in Cao's family who were stationed in different places, but none of them knew about their master's banquet."

"Those in his house were his closest confidants, and all of them are dead, including his two grandsons, daughter-in-law, and wife."

"There are three people in his house who are from outside and are here for the banquet."

"Except Lu Zhanshan, the other two are also dead."

"I asked their families, and they said that before they left, they only said they had something to do at Cao's residence, and they didn't tell them anything else."

"And judging from the banquet's arrangement, there should be another guest, the fifth guest, but this person disappeared."

The eldest grandson's eyes immediately turned red. "Liu Youjiao, please send Lu Zhanshan's grandfather to my room. I have also interrogated the Rouran people before. The Turks have some skills. Lu Zhanshan can endure it, but I don't believe his grandfather can endure it too!!"

At this moment, there were four minor officials sitting in front of Chang Sun. Except for Liu Taozi, the others all changed their expressions.

The county clerk looked around and whispered, "Mr. Changsun, I think that since someone has confessed, there is no need to investigate this fifth guest."

"It is most appropriate to conclude the case by arguing that Lu Zhanshan committed murder."

The eldest grandson frowned, "You want to persuade me to fool County Lord Gao?!"

The county clerk was so frightened that he trembled, "How dare I!"

"However, how can this be considered a lie? Liu Youjia claimed that there was a fifth person present, but is there any evidence? It's just a guess."

"There are five wine cups and five empty bowls. Does that mean there will be five guests?"

"On the contrary, Lu Zhanshan's father testified against him. If Lu Zhanshan is not the murderer, why doesn't he testify against the real murderer? If he can't speak, he is a huge suspect!"

"I think we can interrogate Lu Zhanshan, but we should interrogate him on why he killed people, not the fifth person."

The scholar spoke so fast that even the eldest grandson was stunned.

Another chief secretary said, "Lord Changsun, I also think what Wang Shugan said is right. Investigating a case is actually just about finding a murderer. If we keep investigating, it may not be appropriate."

Someone else nodded in agreement.

These are all veteran officials in the county government. To them, the real murderer is not important, investigating the case is not important, and even closing the case is not important. What is important is how to save their own lives.

Those who died were not small figures to begin with, not to mention that there was a person involved whom even Lu Zhanshan did not dare to disclose easily.

What kind of case are you investigating? Try to save your life!
Everyone had the same idea. The eldest grandson had a stern face and said nothing.

"Zhizhi stays, and the rest leave."

All the officials stood up one after another without any displeasure. Each of them seemed to be relieved and left the place very quickly.

Chang Sun's face turned even worse as he watched these people run away.

He looked at Liu Taozi, who had her eyes narrowed at the moment, looking absent-minded.

The eldest grandson was very unhappy, "You Jiao! Why are you so negligent?"

"Could it be that you are afraid of this fifth guest?"

Liu Taozi looked at him and shook her head slightly.

"I'm not afraid."

"But Youjiao doesn't seem to care that much."

"I was not a good person to begin with, so I'll just die."

The eldest grandson pursed his lips and asked in astonishment: "What did you say?"

"These people will die sooner or later, so there is nothing to regret about their death."

Liu Taozi spoke again, and Changsun couldn't help it. He stood up, limped back and forth, and was furious.

"You are a vagrant! You are a local official! No matter who died, whether it was someone you liked or someone you hated, you have to find out!!"

"This is your duty. Otherwise, how can you have the face to eat the salary from the government?!"

"I am an official, I do not receive salaries from the government."

"I"

"you!!"

Changsun's mouth almost twisted. He quickly walked in front of Taozi, raised his head, and stared at him solemnly.

"Even if you don't receive a salary from the government, you still receive a salary from the government!" "I don't care if that fucking Lu confesses his guilt or not! I don't care if further investigation will cause trouble! I must present the real thing to the county magistrate! You must get to the bottom of this matter! Catch the real culprit!!"

"only."

The eldest grandson then walked away from Taozi and said, "I'll take those two Lu guys away first. I don't believe I can't pry them open. I don't care what means you use, you have to find out the truth for me!"

He limped away from here.

The backyard of the county government office.

Gao Changgong sat in the upper seat with a serious expression, looking at Lu Qubing standing beside him.

"What a great Cheng'an City."

"It's often a major case with more than ten people killed."

Lu Qubing lowered his head, stood aside, and said nothing.

"Four wealthy and prestigious families in the city were murdered at the same time. The murderer was brutal, killing each one with a knife. This is not something a county school lecturer would do."

"Do you think there are such people in the county? They hate the rich, are very skilled, and are cruel. They can scare others into not speaking out and forcing them to confess their crimes."

"Oh, he must have some status to be invited. Besides, the perpetrator is not just one person. He should have several good followers following him."

Hearing these words, Lu Qubing trembled all over. He raised his head blankly and moved his lips.

Gao Changgong was a little surprised. Could there really be such a person?
"Who?"

Lu Qubing took a deep breath and shook his head quickly, "No."

Gao Changgong laughed, "Mr. Lu is not good at lying."

"I really don't know who it is."

Lu Qubing said.

Gao Changgong sighed and said, "Well, I do have some guesses."

"Mr. Lu, you haven't rested all night. Go back and rest first. If there is anything, I will call you."

"only!"

Lu Qubing walked out from here with a complicated expression on his face. He looked up, hesitated for a long time, then quickened his pace and trotted towards the north courtyard.

"Taozi, tell me the truth, did you do it?"

"Ah! Forget it, don't tell me!"

Lu Qubing was sitting in the house with Liu Taozi at this moment, his face full of pain and confusion.

When Gao Changgong asked this question, the first person Lu Qubing thought of was a butcher.

There really is a butcher in Cheng'anli who kills without blinking an eye. He especially hates this bunch of insects and is cruel. He has some status and good followers, who can scare the other party so that they dare not expose him. If they do, he will kill his whole family.

Gao Changgong was very kind to Lu Qubing, but Lu Qubing did not want to tell Gao Changgong about the butcher.

Because this butcher is that fucking Liu Taozi.

Lu Qubing didn't think much about it at first until he discovered that Taozi perfectly met all the characteristics of the murderer.

If Taozi killed someone, would Lu Zhanshan dare to tell anyone?

Looking at Lu Qubing's troubled face, Liu Taozi slowly spoke, "If I had done something, no one would have survived."

"Didn't that Fatty Zongxian survive back then?"

"The knife is sharpened."

"It's not you?"

"You do not trust me?"

"letter."

Lu Qubing immediately recovered and said, "If it was you who did it, you would never lie to me."

But soon, he pondered again, "Who did it?"

"The Murong family."

Peach replied calmly.

"what??"

Lu Qubing's eyes widened, "Who?"

Liu Taozi looked to the side, and Kou Liu hurriedly stepped forward, saluted and said, "Mr. Lu, my brother asked me to find a black wooden carriage covered with black silk and a short black man with a goatee."

"I have inquired about it. There is only one car of that kind in the city. It belongs to the Murong Mansion. The short dark man is called Murong Zeng, and he is the manager of the Murong Mansion."

Lu Qubing still didn't understand, so he looked at Liu Taozi again.

"When I went to look for Lu Zhanshan, I saw this man coming out of his house. He didn't hide himself at all. So I remembered his features and asked Kou Liu to look for him."

"The fifth guest is from Murong Mansion."

(End of this chapter)