Chapter 94: Homicide

Xu Qi’an, who had risen early, had just arrived at the back hall when he heard Xu Lingyin’s noisy voice.

A reddish pimple had sprung up on her small, bare, white face, and it hurt when she pressed it.

The aunt lied to her, saying that it was a worm growing on her face, and that the worm was eating her flesh, and that tomorrow she would be disfigured and would not be able to marry in the future.

Suzume Hsu didn’t care if she could get married or not, but she had always thought that she was the cute kid who would be as pretty as her mother and sister in the future, and become a good trick-or-treater.

Hearing her mother say that made her sad and watery.

So the aunt is also the wilful one, lying even to her own infant daughter and smugly mocking from the sidelines.

“Big brother…” shaking her little butt, Xu Suoyin ran to her big brother, a sharp brake, sideways, short fingers pointing at her cheeks, deflated, “I’m going to be disfigured.”

“You’re not disfigured,” Xu Qi’an touched her brain, “You’re beautifully bubbly.”

“What is beauty bubbling?”

“It’s just that in the future it will definitely be prettier than your mother and sister.”

Xu Suoyin believed it and was so happy that she ate three bowls of porridge for breakfast.

…..

When they arrived at the office of the night watchman, Xu Qi’an, Song Tingfeng, and Zhu Guangxiao, who were in charge of the day patrol, skipped down the street in a group of three.

“That’s a nice blade you have.” Song Tingfeng noticed that Xu Qi’an’s saber, which hung on his back waist, had changed in style.

Xu Qi’an pressed the blade with one hand and picked his thumb, causing the black gold blade to come out of its sheath by three inches and quickly return to its sheath with a smug smile:

“From the Superintendent of Justice.”

He didn’t say that it was sent by the Supervisor Zheng, no one would believe him if he did, and in case he did, the rumor would spread, and it would also attract the eyes of covetous people.

“A magic weapon?” Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao’s eyes lit up.

Xu Qi’an shook his head, it wasn’t a magic weapon, there were no inscribed formations, and its only characteristic was that it was hard.

This was a good match for Xu Qi’an.

The streets of the inner city were wide and well-connected, and Xu Qi’an bought a lot of snacks and distributed them to his two colleagues as he ate.

Day patrols have their benefits. In addition to the watchmen, there are also the Imperial Sword Guards who patrol the city and the constables from the government offices.

This makes the work of the night watchman much less stressful, you can have time to touch the fish, tired of walking, into the teahouse to drink tea and listen to books, but also hooks to listen to music.

As he walked, Xu Qi’an stepped on a hard lump under his foot, and he eyed ahead, barely pausing as he bent down to pick it up.

His movements were too natural and smooth, and his expression was too calm, so that Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao thought that he was just doing something ordinary like “touching his pants” and “tapping his boots”.

Didn’t realize that this new cohort had just seen three dollars in silver.

Xu Qi’an pinched his silver and proposed, “How about listening to music at the hookah?”

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao hesitated for a moment, “Good.”

The three of them breezed into the hookah and came to the elegant room on the second floor, where the tables were set up by the railing so that the guests could drink tea and wine while overlooking the program on the stage in the lobby.

A miscellaneous play was going on on the stage.

“The day after tomorrow is the day of His Majesty’s ancestor sacrifice, so you guys should have had a few experiences.” Xu Qi’an opened the conversation, incidentally seeking experience from his two colleagues.

“We just need to guard the edge of Sangpo, the Ancestor Sacrifice Ceremony is held in Sangpo, you know this, right?” Song Tingfeng chewed on a peanut and took a sip of his small wine.

Xu Qi’an nodded, Sang Po was a small lake outside of the Imperial City that happened to be in the arch of the capital’s five guards’ barracks.

The task of a night watchman is simple: to maintain order and protect the safety of the royal family.

The ritual process was handled by the Taishang Temple and the Ministry of Ceremonies, and the periphery was patrolled by the Imperial Sword Guards, the Jingwu Guards, and other forbidden troops of the Imperial City.

After watching a miscellaneous drama, Song Tingfeng is too boring, shouted to the bawd, and in a moment, a group of girls dressed in flamboyant style came in.

Smiling, they stood in a row and winked at the three honored guests.

The uniforms of the night watchmen on Xu Qi’an’s trio were still very bluff.

Xu Qi’an didn’t want to touch a woman for three days, Qi Practicing Realm martial artists didn’t need to abstain from sex, but they also needed to exercise moderation and not indulge.

“You guys listen to me ….” He beckoned, whispering in the ears of his two fellow officers.

Song Tingfeng and Zhu Guangxiao stared at him incredulously, as if to say, You’re a beast?

After picking two women with pretty faces, the two did not go out of the elegant room, but into the inner room, hooks this kind of place, of course, will not be purely listening to the song, most of the time, is to listen to the song, while the completion of the life of the pass.

“The hookah is equivalent to a concert + circus in the previous life, so many tricks, so beautiful.” Xu Qi’an sipped his wine and took small bites of food, admiring it with interest.

….

Near noon, the three left the hookah, because a stomach of pastries tea snacks and wine, lunch simply do not eat.

Today’s fun was quite enjoyable.” Song Tingfeng narrowed his eyes, satisfied.

“That’s nothing.” Xu Qi’an bristled.

Song Tingfeng looked unfamiliar, but it didn’t hinder his interest, “What is it.”

“I’m not really sure.” Xu Qi’an shrugged. After all, this game was only for the rich.

Song Tingfeng had a “you’re teasing me” look on his face, “Then what are you saying to me.”

Xu Qi’an was helpless.

While walking and chatting, he suddenly saw a team of government constables wearing public uniforms in front of him, rushing fast.

At the head of the group was a woman with a tall figure, beautiful features, thicker eyebrows than the average woman, and a heroic spirit.

Lu Qing saw the trio at a glance, after all, the night watchman’s messenger uniform was handsome and eye-catching, immediately strangled the reins of his horse, and in the long neighing of the horse’s high raised front hooves, his voice was clear and translucent, “Mr. Xu, good to see you again …. The two of you don’t come back well.”

He called him Mr. Xu, to us is “two”, so I and Guangxiao just two small corner without a name ….. Song Tingfeng face smiling, eyes narrowed into a slit, greeted:

“After not seeing you for many days, Sheriff Lu is becoming more and more valiant.”

Lu Qing pursed her lips and smiled, then remembered the main event and opened the door, “There was a murder on Sanshui Street, which is also within the scope of your inspection, so since you met, let’s go together.”

There is a murder case …. Song Tingfeng’s face was solemn: “Alright, Sheriff Lu will go first, we’ll follow behind.”

….

Xu Qi’an and his fellow officers rushed to Sanshui Street, and at the entrance of a mansion, they saw the horse of the government constable bolted to the side of the road.

Entering the gate and crossing the courtyard, I saw a few quick hands from the government office asking questions, and the women of the family were red-eyed and crying.

Lui Ching is in the house, not in the courtyard.

Xu Qi’an scrutinized the pretty-looking hostess and said, “The deceased was your husband?”

The mistress of the house, seeing the poor clothes of the night watchman, nodded meekly, wiping her tears with her handkerchief as she did so.

Xu Qi’an swept a glance over her luscious, floating figure and said in a deep voice, “Call out your son.”

The mistress of the house, not understanding the thoughts of this gong, sent her servant away, and in a few minutes the servant came out with a child of about ten years of age.

“Is there more?” Xu Qi’an asked.

“…. There is only one only son.” The hostess took the child in her arms.

It’s me who thought too much! Xu Qi’an nodded reassuringly and crossed over to the crowd, entering the house with his two colleagues.

It was a study, and the dead man was lying on his back on the book case, bleeding profusely from dried blood that had clotted and covered half the desktop.

With just a glance, Xu Qi’an estimated that the other party’s throat had been slit.

Lv Qing, with two quick hands from the government office, was checking the corners, doors, windows and beams of the study.

Xu Qi’an asked, “Did you find anything?”

Lu Qing shook his head, “Intact everywhere, no traces of prying, no footprints from the overturned window, and the same goes for the beams.”

Xu Qi’an said, “An acquaintance did it.”

You’ve come to a conclusion so quickly?

Knowing that Xu Qi’an was an expert, the crowd did not retort and looked at him, waiting for an explanation.

“The doors and windows are intact, and there are no footprints on the beams, basically ruling out a break-in to the study to commit murder.” Xu Qi’an walked around the deceased:

“The deceased was seated in an upright position, and from the angle of the slumped table, death was instantaneous and without struggle. This suggests that the deceased and the murderer were acquainted, and not only acquainted, but someone who was in great awe or fear of him.”

“What makes you say that?” Lu Qing asked for advice with an open mind.

“The deceased should not be a scholar.” Xu Qi’an asked.

Lu Qing didn’t understand the meaning of his question and replied, “Small Flag Officer of the Jinguwei.”

Xu Qi’an nodded, ”A normal person, sitting in a study at home, should be relaxed and cozy. It shouldn’t be such an upright, meticulous sitting position. Unless the person facing him compels him to treat him respectfully.

“Also, the cause of death appears to be throat slitting at first glance, but I’m guessing the real cause of death is here…” said Xu Qi’an as he grabbed the dead man’s hair and lifted the ghastly white face up to his head.

The people in the house saw a shallow depression in the forehead of the deceased.