Chapter 39: Unmasking the Culprit

Murong Huan nodded and said, “The shopkeeper just mentioned that the two men entered this private room at quarter past noon, and no women were seen coming in. Then how did this female corpse and the body downstairs get brought into this room? Therefore, I suspect that the two tall, robust men he described were not just two, but actually four people, who concealed the two corpses under wide cloaks.”

“If the shopkeeper had looked more carefully, he might have noticed!”

A flash of inspiration crossed the shopkeeper’s eyes, and he said, “Oh, right, now that you mention it, I remember they each carried a long box. I thought they were here for business and didn’t pay much attention. So it seems they hid the corpses inside the boxes to bring them in.”

“But why would they kill people and then bring the bodies here to make it look like they hanged themselves or jumped off the building? Isn’t that deliberately trying to ruin my business?”

“Gentlemen, you must find the real culprit to clear the name of my Ruyi Pavilion!”

Lu Ling and Xiao Muchen exchanged thoughtful looks and remained silent. Lu Shiyilang responded, “Don’t worry, shopkeeper. If you provide enough clues to help us find the true murderer, we will surely clear the name of your Ruyi Pavilion!”

“Continue,” Xiao Muchen gestured to Murong Huan.

“These two men threw one of the corpses downstairs. One reason might be to kill me under the pretense that someone fell from the building. Another is to get my attention. There are no footprints on the windowsill, indicating they did not escape through the window but chose another way to conceal their identities—most likely, they disguised themselves as spectators watching the puppet show here.”

“When I came in, I looked at every spectator and memorized their appearances. There were thirty-two in total. If we find all thirty-two, I can identify these two killers among them.”

“How will you find them?” Lu Shiyilang asked curiously.

“The shopkeeper saw them; I only need his description to sketch their portraits.”

The shopkeeper quickly waved his hands. “But they both wore bamboo hats covering their faces—I never saw their features!”

“You just need to tell me their distinguishing traits, and I will piece them together based on your description.”

Hearing this, Qiu Shenji was dumbfounded. Before he could say anything, Wuling Yue came up from downstairs and reported to Xiao Muchen, “Deputy Minister Xiao, the Inner Guard and the Court of Justice have surrounded this tavern. All the spectators have been found and questioned, but no clues emerged. These spectators are all spoiled young nobles from the Divine Capital of Luoyang, timid and cowardly, so they can be ruled out as suspects.”

“How many spectators in total?” Xiao Muchen asked.

“Thirty.”

“That means two are still missing!”

“That’s impossible. The men I brought have already secured the area and searched the surroundings. No one else was found.”

Xiao Muchen then looked at Qiu Shenji. “General Qiu, how many men did you bring today?”

“Fifty!” Qiu Shenji replied casually.

“Then count whether the Gold Guards here are only fifty.” After saying this, he asked Murong Huan, “Is the sketch of the culprits ready?”

“Yes! It’s done!” Murong Huan nodded and handed over the portrait. Xiao Muchen frowned slightly and saw the paper was completely blank.

Still, he calmly folded the paper and said confidently, “Also, tell them the Court of Justice’s sketch artist has drawn the suspects’ likenesses. They should surrender themselves. According to the law of Great Zhou, those who confess can avoid the death penalty. This is their last chance!”

“Yes, sir!” Wuling Yue acknowledged and left, glancing at Murong Huan on his way down.

Murong Huan said, “I will go down with Lord Sheyue.”

Qiu Shenji seemed about to object but found no reason and could only stare helplessly as Wuling Yue and Murong Huan descended. Murong Huan shouted to the Gold Guards below, “I know the killers are among you. If you surrender now, your punishment will be reduced and avoid execution. If not, I will have the sketch artist identify you by your faces!”

As Wuling Yue spoke, Murong Huan scanned the dense crowd inside the tavern. As Xiao Muchen had guessed, two extra men were indeed among the Gold Guards. Using the memory of the spectators’ appearances, she quickly identified two suspicious individuals with flickering eyes.

“Those two!” Murong Huan pointed.

The two men, hiding in the crowd, suddenly panicked and tried to run.

Wuling Yue shouted, “Seize them!”

Two Inner Guards immediately grabbed the two men like catching chicks and brought them before Lu Ling, Xiao Muchen, and Qiu Shenji.

The men were skinny young men, looking no older than twenty.

“Didn’t the shopkeeper say the two men were burly? How could these two be the culprits?” Qiu Shenji sneered disdainfully.

The two men knelt immediately. “Your Excellencies, we’re innocent! We’re really not the killers!”

“If you’re not the culprits, why run?”

Murong Huan said, “If I’m right, you prepared these Gold Guard uniforms before coming. The two black cloaks and bamboo hats you took off should still be in this private room.”

Upon hearing this, Lu Ling immediately ordered the Court of Justice’s constables, “Search the private room again—check for secret compartments, beam hollows, beneath the floorboards. Search everywhere!”

“Yes, sir!”

Three constables reentered the room to search. After a while, one constable found a black concealed item in the beam and handed it to Lu Ling.

“Deputy Minister Lu, here it is, hidden in the beam!”

Lu Ling opened it and found two cloaks and two bamboo hats inside. He threw them before the two men. “Put these on and let the shopkeeper identify you.”

Terrified, the two men did not dare move. Lu Shiyilang kicked each of them once. “Hurry up! Do you want the Court of Justice to torture you?”

One man immediately knelt. “We are not the killers. We were paid by the master to help dispose of the bodies. The employer told us to dump the corpses here and said this young sir would pass by here, so we should frame him for the murders.” Saying this, the man took out a portrait from his sleeve and handed it to Xiao Muchen.

Xiao Muchen opened it and saw the image was of Murong Huan, a tall figure clad in white robes.

“Who is this master you mentioned?”

“The steward of the Guo Mansion!”

...

“This Guo family is the household of Guo Erlang, who was killed alongside Zhou Jiulang. The current head of the Guo family, Guo Hongba, is known as a cruel and petty official. During Li Jingye’s rebellion, he vowed before the Empress to tear Li Jingye apart, eat his flesh, drink his blood, and crush his marrow. His ferocity pleased the sovereign, and he was promoted to Inspector.”

Lu Shiyilang laid out the investigation files on the Guo family in front of Lu Ling, Murong Huan, and Xiao Muchen. “One more thing worth mentioning: this Inspector once tried to curry favor by tasting Doctor Wei’s excrement, earning him the notorious nickname ‘Inspector Tasting Excrement.’”

After saying this, Lu Shiyilang covered his mouth to stifle laughter. Seeing no one else laughed, he continued:

“Based on the sketch drawn by Lord Su Silang, we have identified the victims as two newly taken concubines of Guo Erlang. One named Xie Zi’e was taken by Guo Erlang just a month ago.”

“Then who killed these two women, and what was the motive?”