Nine Chapters of Strange Cases

Chapter 324 Searching for the Corpse
"Meng Yannian!" Han Ze exclaimed in surprise.

His voice was clear and youthful, but now, as he raised it, it sounded like a vase being blown off a building in the middle of the night, making a loud, unforgettable sound.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the sound, and Han Ze smiled awkwardly and scratched his head.

"You know him too?"

Upon hearing Zhou Zhao's question, Han Ze stood on tiptoe and peered at the corpse's face. Seeing that familiar face, he nodded heavily.

"We met once, and I heard that he liked one of Huo Ting's distant cousins, a girl named Jiang Yue. Although the Jiang family was not of high social standing, a mere musician could not possibly have a chance with their legitimate daughter. Her family had arranged a marriage for her with a fiancé named Li Mao."

Later, for reasons unknown, Meng Yannian killed Li Mao.

Jiang Yue claimed that Li Mao had ulterior motives towards her, and that Meng Yannian killed him to save her. The Li family, however, were no small fry and were determined to kill Meng Yannian in revenge. Jiang Yue refused to back down, saving Meng Yannian's life, and in return, she promised her family she would marry him far away.

I don't know the specifics of what happened. To protect Jiang Yue's reputation, the case was kept quiet.

However, I heard from Huo Ting that Jiang Yue later hanged herself, and she never married.

Han Ze spoke with a hint of melancholy.

He had seen the girl named Jiang Yue at the banquet. She was fair-skinned and delicate, wearing a green and white dress, like a lily of the valley covered in morning dew.

There was a moment of silence at the scene.

Even though I've investigated Zhou Zhao's case many times, hearing about such a tragedy still makes me feel melancholy.

Who knows that your carriage has a hidden compartment?

Zhou Zhao steadied himself and continued to ask Uncle Xiang.

“In Chang’an, you’re not the only one who takes out chamber pots. The murderer probably doesn’t know martial arts, or his martial arts skills are not high, so he needs a chamber pot cart to evade curfew. Besides, not all chamber pot carts are convenient for hiding a body, so he probably knew in advance that your cart had a hidden compartment.”

Uncle Xiang has already confessed to the theft, so how could he not speak up?

He thought for a moment and said, "Chen the carpenter who helped me build the partition, my son Achan, and Liu Asan the broker who helped me sell stolen goods. I was very careful when I stole things and was never caught, but that time when I was transporting the baby's body, a triangular-eyed old woman from that family saw it."

The family's surname was Lin, and they lived in Taiping Lane, Yong'anfang. They were a wealthy family. I heard the other maids call that old woman "Aunt Xi."

As for the others, perhaps someone saw me open them; who knows?

Zhou Zhao listened without saying much. She pondered for a moment, then said, "First, send the body and witnesses back to the Court of Justice. Now we'll go find the birthday banquet."

Upon hearing this, Su Changying arranged for the Northern Army to come and escort the body. In the midst of their busy work, Min Cangzhi, with a dark face and pinching his nose, came over.

"How am I supposed to find him? You're not going to treat me like a dog and make me follow the smell to find the murderer again, are you?"
If I can no longer blend perfumes in the future, it's because you all messed me up!

Thinking of what he had been forced to do earlier, Min Cangzhi felt a wave of nausea. Ever since Zhou Zhao came to the Left Courtyard, he had never dressed up in a dashing manner; instead, he had made a fool of himself every time. Not only had he lost all face, but he had also lost half his heart.

Zhou Zhao clicked his tongue twice. "Stop bragging. Your nose isn't that powerful. Dogs are still better."

Min Zangzhi was so angry he almost fell over. Just as he was about to speak again, he heard Su Changying say from the side, "The restaurant."

Zhou Zhao's eyes lit up, and he gave Su Changying a thumbs up. "You thought of that too. What's needed for a birthday banquet? The host, food and wine, guests, musicians..."

I've been wondering why the murderer went to such lengths to transport the body away in a kerosene-filled cart. He didn't clean up the bloodstains and even left behind a birthday banquet token. What does that mean? It means he never intended to cover up the fact that he killed someone.

If that's the case, why remove the body?

Su Changying looked at Zhou Zhao, who was confidently recounting the case, his eyes filled with a tenderness and appreciation that he himself was unaware of.

His little girl has always been so dazzling. No matter how many setbacks she has encountered, she radiates confidence and brilliance, like the blazing sun on a sunny day or the full moon in the night sky, making it impossible to look away.

"Although it sounds a bit far-fetched, I still dare to speculate that these murdered people were guests at the killer's birthday banquet."

As soon as Zhou Zhao finished speaking, Min Zangzhi and Han Ze both gasped, their expressions turning strange.

Han Ze covered his mouth in surprise, "If this is true, I don't think I'll ever be able to attend any birthday banquet again."

Min Cangzhi still remembered Han Ze's previous meddlesome remarks, and he rolled his eyes at him, "Aren't you going to Su Changying's birthday banquet either?"

Han Ze's eyes darted around, and he chuckled, "Go ahead! With my brother Changying and sister Zhao there, what kind of monsters and demons could possibly appear at the birthday banquet?"

Min Zangzhi remained silent.

When a person has no shame, they are truly invincible.

Zhou Zhao ignored the two bickering fellows and continued:
“No birthday banquet tokens were left at the previous crime scenes. Either the tokens were picked up by someone, or today is special because it is the murderer’s birthday.”

Even a smelly sock on the street might be picked up by someone, let alone a small bronze artifact; even a small one can be sold for money.

"Regardless, Meng Yannian was a musician, the previous victims were guests, and the murderer was the host of the banquet... Where did the food and wine come from? He killed quite a few people, and it's unlikely that such a banquet for the dead would be openly held in a busy home, with the kitchen serving food and wine to the dead."

After all, based on this case, we have not found any accomplices so far. Only one person has been dumping the night soil. If he had accomplices, it would arouse suspicion among the passing Northern Army soldiers.

If he had no accomplices, where did the food and drink come from? From the restaurant, of course, delivered to his residence.

Min Zangzhi listened, his expression turning serious.

“There are hundreds of restaurants in Chang’an, if not thousands. How can you check them all? I’m afraid that by the time we finish checking, he will have already moved the body.”

Zhou Zhao shook his head and gave Su Changying a look. Su Changying immediately understood and went to the alley entrance to find his subordinates to make arrangements.

As Zhou Zhao walked, he explained, "You're wrong."

In a city as large as Chang'an, there couldn't possibly be only one latrine cleaner. These latrine cleaners were all assigned to specific neighborhoods. The latrine cleaner was responsible for the area around the latrine cleaner, which is why your subordinate Cai Yan was blind to the danger because he knew the latrine cleaner.

Although he could use the night soil cart to evade the curfew, there were limits. If he rashly went to another place to empty the night soil, he would definitely be questioned because he was a stranger. If he encountered the night soil collector from the original place, he might be exposed immediately.

Therefore, the body must be hidden within this area.