When the book-traveling little detective meets the two-faced prince

Lin Lezhi went around in circles and returned to the original question.

He certainly understood Cheng Su's character. If he truly didn't care about the lives of his soldiers, why would he have returned and taken the bodies of the dead soldiers away?

How could he have blocked a fatal arrow for himself on the battlefield, leaving his life hanging by a thread and almost beyond saving?

They would not even put explosive cigarettes on themselves.

"what do you want to say in the end!"

Hong Mingxu gritted his teeth.

"Nothing, just a little weird?"

"What's so strange?"

"From what I've learned about the general since landing on the island, whenever faced with unknown, uncontrollable risks, he would personally lead his men to clear the way. But... when exploring that crack in the well, without knowing exactly what was going on inside, the general actually accepted your suggestion and sent someone from among the men down there to investigate."

After hearing Lin Lezhi's words, Hong Mingxu's gloomy eyes revealed a thoughtful look as he recalled every move of Cheng Su in the well.

That day, after Jiang Lian'an and his companions entered the crack of the tunnel, the general asked the rest of the people to rest there.

Thereafter.

The general leaned against the wall next to the underground water and closed his eyes to rest.

Cheng Su is a general, so naturally no one dares to disturb the general's rest. The only one who is close to the general is himself, and he also knows that the general has not had a good rest in recent days.

So, I just sat quietly not far away and didn't disturb him.

It was not until Jiang Lian'an and Xiao Xu returned from the crack and brought back the news of the Puppet Cave that everyone left there and headed for the Puppet Cave.

"The general was so concerned about the safety of the people he brought with him that he wouldn't force the people to take risks with him when he felt there was danger. He even paved a way for them to escape. Yet, when the four of us entered the cave, accompanied only by He Yu, a personal soldier, he was able to sit down by the river and take a nap."

Lin Lezhi looked at Cheng Su and said, "I think it's not that the general doesn't want to lead the troops there himself, but he can't. He has to stay there because Cui Yan is hiding behind a corner not far away. Only when he is there, the people who stay behind dare not disturb him."

"What evidence do you have?"

"The evidence is what I just said, duckweed in the puddle."

Hearing these words again, Hong Mingxu's eyes suddenly narrowed.

That day.

When everyone turned back from the puppet cave and prepared to return to the courtyard.

Lin Lezhi walked at the end. Because of the torch handed by He Yu, in the sufficient light and the reflection of the water surface, Lin Lezhi found that there were several puddles of water at the place where Cheng Su had rested, with moss floating in the water.

But no one should have been to that area.

If anyone had been there, there would definitely not be just scattered duckweed. After all, when going down the well, everyone's feet were covered with moss in the well.

moment.

An uneasy thought suddenly emerged in Lin Lezhi's mind.

Will it be...

Is there someone hiding behind?

To be on the safe side, Lin Lezhi bravely shone the torch over there to explore the corners where people might be hiding.

result.

It was just a false alarm. Not only were there no Tibetans around the corner, but we had also reached the end of the underground river and there was no way to go.

At that time, he did not suspect Cheng Su.

He thought that what he was worried about might have been thought about and explored by Cheng Su, so he sat there to take a rest. The moss in the puddle was left by Cheng Su accidentally stepping into the puddle.

But he overlooked one problem at the time and did not doubt Cheng Su.

There is an underground river outlet there. The river water is turbulent and can surge to the ground at any time, washing the ground from time to time and leaving many puddles.

The river water will help clean up the traces.

Even if someone really stood behind there, no trace would be found.

Moreover, there are so many puddles over there and they are close to a rushing river. Why doesn’t Cheng Su choose a safe place to rest where he won’t get wet?

On the other hand, even if only Cheng Su had explored it, there would definitely not be just scattered duckweed.

But it would be more reasonable if the person who stepped into the puddle was not Cheng Su, but Cui Yan who had fallen into the water.

When Cui Yan fell into the water, the rushing water must have carried away the moss on the soles of his shoes. Moss only grows in places where there is sunlight and will not grow in places where there is no light at all.

After Cheng Su ordered him to hide, he returned along the same route.

Before many people went down into the underground tunnel, the moss on the ground had not been stepped on so much.

As he walked forward, and stepped over puddles on the ground, the moss on the soles of his shoes would certainly decrease accordingly. In addition, underground water would occasionally wash away some of the moss, so naturally only a few spots of moss remained.

After hearing Lin Lezhi's inference, Hong Mingxu's eyes widened even more. He looked at Cheng Su with disbelief and a dazed look in his eyes.

No wonder.

When the general heard Lin Lezhi talk about "broken stem duckweed", he no longer opposed him staying.

It turned out to be the case.

Lin Lezhi continued, “This is why the general ordered the two soldiers guarding the village entrance to return to the courtyard after nightfall, rather than guarding the courtyard early in the morning.”

"Why?"

"After we returned from the rift, the general ordered everyone to head to the Doll Cave. Cui Yan, hiding behind the corner, was able to leave safely, but..."

but.

There were still soldiers and civilians left in the courtyard, and the ropes at other well openings were gone, so he naturally couldn't leave there for the time being, but the water outlet that had been checked before became the best place to go.

With Cheng Su here, even if someone wants to check again, he can stop them in time.

After that, he only needed to wait until there was no one in the courtyard and then he could come out of the well. The courtyard was already covered with water stains and moss, so when he came out later, he could blend in with the mossy footprints left behind and would not be discovered.

But he still couldn't leave the village because there were soldiers guarding the village entrance.

At this time, Cheng Su's arrangements are crucial.

It can not only make it appear that Cheng Su himself has nothing to do with the case and is determined to get to the bottom of it, but also allow Cui Yan to leave safely without being discovered.

After Cui Yan came out of the well, he carefully moved to the gate of a courtyard, waiting for the two soldiers guarding the village entrance to return to the courtyard, and then he left the village entrance quietly.

He followed the abandoned objects in the forest back to the lake, disguised himself as a water ghost, scared away the people who stayed by the lake, and left behind the largest boat.

That's why.

The reason why Cheng Su continued to requisition the ship even though he knew it was burned.

But if Cheng Su had not taken this action and had not wanted to protect the largest ship, he would not have discovered the fish glue on the deck and the case would not have been solved.

"The general and Cui Yan's plan was indeed perfect, but perhaps he was too nervous, or perhaps he was afraid that the two soldiers guarding the courtyard would hear him moving the door panel, so he did not restore the door panel to its original position."

When following Cheng Su's team to leave here, he deliberately paid attention to every courtyard.

Without exception, all the courtyard gates on both sides of the mountain road open towards the inner courtyard, and the edges of the door panels almost touch the courtyard wall on one side.

"It was dark and foggy at the time, so I didn't notice it. But Xiao Xu is a very cautious person, as observant as a fox. His eyes guided me, and I realized that the door panel opened and closed at the wrong size. There were moss and water stains in the weeds behind the door, and the moss and water stains extended outside the courtyard gate."

Lin Lezhi paused, his tone tinged with a sigh as he spoke, "I think... neither the general nor Cui Yan anticipated Guan Ziheng's arrival on the island the next morning, accompanied by boats. Their plan was to isolate the island, using the terrifying rumors of water ghosts to prevent unsuspecting people from landing and endangering themselves. But things didn't go as they anticipated. To keep the island closed, the best solution was to send the uninvolved civilians home and then burn the boats."

After saying that, Lin Lezhi looked at Cui Yan, who was staring at Hong Mingxu with hatred in his eyes, and continued, "After that, Cui Yan hid in the dark, waiting for the general's order."

That day, after Zhou Yuanliang and Zhu Yang discovered the wet footprints in the forest, Cheng Su took people to look for them in a hurry, and asked Hong Mingxu to stay and rest there. I think he was worried that Cui Yan would be discovered in advance.

"The water stains on the ground might just be a trick to make us think it's the work of a water ghost, but in fact they are not in the water at all."

At that time, Cheng Su said this.

Given Cheng Su's caution, he actually didn't allow anyone to investigate in the water. Instead, he continued with his own words, believing it was a decoy, and led everyone to the nearby woods to investigate.

As such.

After figuring everything out, it could only be that Cheng Su was helping Cui Yan buy time to escape. Cui Yan should have been in the water at that time.

Because if Cui Yan continued to walk through the forest, the water stains on his body and in the forest would expose him. Therefore, hiding in the water was the best choice.

"However, if my deduction is correct, Cui Yan's exposure was agreed upon by the General and you all early on, because you wanted to send the remaining civilians off the island. You came to the island to search for treasure, and if you send the civilians back in the end, Hong Mingxu won't become suspicious and continue with your plan."

Lin Lezhi sighed sincerely this time, "But you never expected that in just four days on the island, the snakes would come out of their nests, murders would occur one after another, and even innocent people would lose their lives."

After hearing this, Hong Mingxu's eyes became even more dull, and his broad and solid body even staggered.

Not only Hong Mingxu, but also Cheng Su and Cui Yan were a little surprised. The other soldiers who were kept in the dark also looked dazed and confused after receiving such big news.

Because He Yu was suffering from the muscle softening powder, he didn't have much strength when he knocked the person unconscious.

So, when the house was filled with thick smoke just now, Qi Xi was choked awake, but he did not make a sound. He even hoped that the water ghost would really kill Hong Mingxu. He also heard all this. He slowly opened his eyes, his eyes full of complicated emotions.

This is the end.

All the unreasonable things on the island and all the cases were explained away, but no one showed any joy on their faces.

Hong Mingxu was about to accept all of this, but then something suddenly occurred to him. He looked at Lin Lezhi in disbelief and incredulity and asked, "The General and I are together almost every day. It's fine if the General suspects me, and I have no objection to your conclusion that I'm the murderer. But how can you be so sure that the General is doing this to arrest me and not someone else?"

Hong Mingxu would rather admit to the murder and acknowledge the evil deeds he committed eleven years ago than believe that Cheng Su would set up such a big trap to catch him.

"Three."

"Say!"

"I was just suspicious at first, but as the truth gradually surfaced, it couldn't be anyone else but you." Lin Lezhi paused and said, "First, it's your position in the army."

"As General Cheng's deputy general, holding the rank of captain, you are responsible for the deployment of military personnel and all other military affairs. You personally selected these soldiers who came to the island and presented them to the general. For such a big undertaking as a treasure hunt, you selected soldiers who were seriously injured and whose injuries have yet to heal, as well as Cui Yan, a new recruit who is still unfamiliar with military affairs."

As he listened, Hong Mingxu's eyes darkened unconcealedly, revealing a murderous look.

"Secondly, if the purpose was simply to find treasure or capture a soldier, the general wouldn't have had to fake Cui Yan's death. He could have just captured him directly. Why go through so much trouble and go through so much trouble? This could only be to catch them by surprise."

"The third one." Lin Lezhi looked at He Yu and said, "It's the two filial piety stories from the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars that Brother He mentioned when we were on the boat: picking mulberries to provide for one's parents and working as a servant to support one's mother."

After he finished speaking, He Yu's eyes were obviously stunned, full of surprise, even astonishment.

"Picking Mulberries to Feed My Parents" tells the story of a filial son, Cai Shun, who picked mulberries during a famine, saving the good ones for his mother and the bad ones for himself. Because of his filial piety, a prefect summoned him to be a filial and honest official, but he didn't want to be far from his mother's grave and refused to accept the invitation."

"Working as a Servant to Support My Mother" tells the story of a filial son, Jiang Ge. He lost his father at a young age and was left with only his mother. During the war, bandits were rampant, and Jiang Ge fled with his mother on his back. As a result, the bandits held a grudge against him, and they tried to kill him many times. Whenever this happened, Jiang Ge would plead with the bandits, and the bandits were all moved by Jiang Ge's filial piety, and they actually..."

Seeing that Jiang Lian'an was about to continue, Hong Mingxu said impatiently: "I'm not here to listen to your stories."

Lin Lezhi remained calm and said, "Captain Hong, do you know that there are 24 stories in the Twenty-Four Filial Exemplars? Why did Brother He only tell these two?"

"Why?"

"Because these two Xiaodians have one thing in common: Cai Shun and Jiang Ge both refused the opportunity to join the government." Lin Lezhi's eyes darkened, his gaze sharp and indignant as he spoke, "But all the soldiers who came here with them didn't have the opportunity to refuse. They are soldiers, and obeying military orders is their duty. Even if they have guessed that they might not return from this trip to the lake island, they must obey the army's deployment!"

Lin Lezhi's face was weak due to the pain in his left shoulder, and his breathing was unsteady due to anger and grief. He said, "They had no choice. Desertion and disobeying military orders are also capital crimes. If the general wants the soldiers to die, the soldiers have to die. It's just the difference between dying early and dying late. If they come, they may not die, but if they don't come, they will definitely die."

That's why He Yu said that he was unfilial.

The war caused a plague. In order to ensure his survival, his parents left the best and life-saving medicine to him, and they only drank the dry grass roots.

Even if He Yu's parents died, they would still deceive He Yu and let him live without giving up hope.

Can……

But he was going to die here because of that military order that was as heavy as a mountain.