Case One: Twin Corpses in the Flower Bed
Ren Wenshu appeared somewhat unconvinced by Zhong Li's line of questioning.
Before Lü Chao could answer, he interjected, "Half a month ago? This case happened ten days ago. Why are you investigating events from half a month ago instead of ten days ago?"
Zhong Li shifted her gaze to Ren Wenshu.
Previously, she had found him to be polite, thinking that even if he was a mama's boy, he was better than Ren Zhong, who was sexist. Now… she felt she had misjudged. These father and son were both useless.
"Did Young Master Ren not observe your surroundings carefully when you followed this official in earlier?" Zhong Li asked.
Ren Wenshu looked blank, as if to say, observe? Observe what? A dusty, dilapidated house had nothing worth observing.
Seeing his expression, Zhong Li curved her lips and said, "If you hadn't told me this house belonged to someone when you entered, I would have almost thought it was an abandoned dwelling."
Ren Wenshu wasn't entirely foolish. Hearing this, he finally understood. The owner of the house was a widow named Miao Fenghua, and the footprints on the ground clearly belonged to a man. Could the killer have been here to scout the location? Or did something else occur here that might be related to the two deceased in the flower bed?
With this thought, his gaze shifted to Zhong Li with admiration. It was rare for a woman to be this intelligent; she was the first he had ever met.
Zhong Li, not noticing Ren Wenshu's thoughts, turned her attention back to Lü Chao and asked, "What do you know about this Miao Fenghua?"
"Replying to Supervisor Zhong, although Miao Fenghua is my neighbor, we rarely speak. Strictly speaking, we've hardly met, let alone know more about her," Lü Chao replied.
"Is this woman very mysterious? What business does she do?" Zhong Li inquired further.
Lü Chao thought for a moment. "Although Jinzhou and Yongcheng are both ports, the imported goods are different. Miao Fenghua likely resells items from different ports."
Zhong Li understood this kind of business. Some people had great business acumen, making a substantial profit just by trading back and forth.
"Did she ever bring other men back with her?" Zhong Li asked.
Lü Chao shook his head; he truly didn't know about that.
"You said she's a widow. How did her former husband pass away?" Zhong Li then looked at Ren Wenshu.
Ren Wenshu replied, "I do know about that. Miao Fenghua's ex-husband was previously in the resale business, dealing in rare items from other countries. He was said to have died in a shipwreck. Because of this, Miao Fenghua is quite hesitant about going out to sea, but since this is the only trade she knows, she engages in smaller ventures."
"If that's the case, does Young Master Ren know if any of these imported goods include a plant called Khat?" Zhong Li asked.
"Tea? I recall no type of tea among our imported goods."
Zhong Li knew Ren Wenshu had misunderstood. She took out the drawing she had previously made for Lu Wuxie and asked, "Tea like this, or a green shrub, are any such things among the imports?"
Ren Wenshu peered intently for a long time, then finally shook his head. "The port has dedicated officials for that. I don't know about that, but from what I understand, no!"
Zhong Li was not surprised by Ren Wenshu's answer at all. She took back her drawing, then took out a brush and ink from a box and began working next to the footprints by the pile of firewood.
Before long, a rubbing of the footprints was collected in her box.
By the time she finished, the evening glow had vanished from the horizon, followed by Jinzhou descending into darkness.
"Let's go." Zhong Li slung her medicine box over her shoulder, instructed Ren Wenshu, and turned to walk outside.
The two returned to the yamen mansion close to the hour of Hai.
The entire Yonghua Street was deserted, with the only accompaniment to Zhong Li and her companions being the striking of the night watch drum from the end of the street.
Ren Zhong, dressed in official robes, stood at the entrance. Upon seeing Ren Wenshu and Zhong Li alight from the carriage, he quickly strode forward.
"Father."
"Supervisor Zhong."
Ren Wenshu and Ren Zhong spoke simultaneously.
Zhong Li bowed to Ren Zhong as a greeting.
"Supervisor Zhong, you've been busy all day and haven't eaten yet, have you? The yamen has prepared food. Please come in and eat," Ren Zhong said.
Zhong Li shook her head. She didn't eat much, and having already eaten to her fill earlier, she had no appetite at the moment.
"Young Master Ren mentioned that the identities of the two corpses have been identified. Is that true?" Normally, she should have returned to her inn to rest after returning from the suburban residence. She heard on the way that Ren Wenshu and the yamen had new clues, which is why she rushed over.
Having been warned by Lu Wuxie, Ren Zhong dared not obstruct Zhong Li further. He nodded and led her towards the main hall.
"Yes. Today, this official and the Crown Prince raced against time to post portraits of the two deceased in various places throughout Jinzhou. Then we inquired house by house, and finally managed to ascertain their identities," Ren Zhong stated.
"Who are these two?" Zhong Li asked.
"Does Supervisor Zhong happen to know of the Fragrant Tea House?" Ren Zhong inquired.
Upon hearing the name of the tea house, Zhong Li's foot, which was just entering the hall, stopped. Her gaze swept across Ren Zhong's profile. She remembered seeing this name when she first entered Jinzhou City, and Lu Wuxie had even introduced it to her in detail.
"Are the deceased people from the Fragrant Tea House?"
Ren Zhong nodded. "However, they are not from the Fragrant Tea House in Jinzhou, but rather the two managers from the Fragrant Tea House in Yongcheng: the elder Yue Tiannan and the younger Yue Tianhu."
"Are the two brothers?" Zhong Li asked again.
"Yes, they are full brothers," Ren Zhong replied.
That makes sense.
Hearing this, Zhong Li thought of this sentence. She remembered that the two deceased looked extremely alike and were definitely related by blood. It seemed her guess was correct.
"Between these two, who is taller and who is shorter?" she asked again.
Ren Zhong did not expect Zhong Li to ask such a question. He casually took out the two portraits from his robes and pointed to the one without a mole on his face, saying, "Yue Tianhu is taller."
He then pointed to the other one with a mole on his face, saying, "Brother Yue Tiannan is shorter."
"Then, in the flower bed, the younger brother was below and the elder brother above?" Zhong Li murmured to herself, then took out the autopsy report she had been keeping in her sleeve.
The cause of death for both individuals was the same: blunt force trauma to the head with a hammer. However, their conditions differed. Yue Tianhu's face was virtually obliterated on one side, while the wounds on his skull indicated the hammer had fallen directly onto his head multiple times.
As for Yue Tiannan, the injury on his skull was on the crown, suggesting the hammer was swung down from above. There was only one wound, delivered swiftly, forcefully, and accurately.
Another difference between the two was that Yue Tianhu's body showed traces of minor aconite, while Yue Tiannan did not.
Based on this, Zhong Li could roughly deduce the order of their deaths. The killer used aconite to incapacitate Yue Tianhu before striking his head with a hammer. The killer was likely a novice, as the force and accuracy were not optimal, resulting in Yue Tianhu's head being severely mangled.
For Yue Tiannan, the killer's technique had clearly improved, delivering a fatal blow with one strike. It was unknown if this killer was shorter than Yue Tianhu, but they were definitely taller than Yue Tiannan.
According to the autopsy results, Yue Tiannan was five feet two inches tall. Therefore, this person would definitely be taller than five feet two inches.
With this in mind, Zhong Li shook her head. Yue Tiannan's height was considered short for a man in Jinzhou, or even in the entire Nan Yue Kingdom. Relying on this single piece of information to find the killer seemed unreliable.
"Lord Ren," Zhong Li said, looking at the portraits of Yue Tiannan and Yue Tianhu in her hand. She suddenly thought of something and asked Ren Zhong, "You mentioned earlier that these two were the proprietors of the Fragrant Tea House in Yongcheng. Then... who is operating the Fragrant Tea House in Jinzhou?"