Records of the Cattle and Horses of Chang'an

The coroners remained silent regarding their analysis of the case and continued piecing together the body parts.

Cui Bianxu and the other two continued to discuss: "Did Qiuniang leave on her own, or was she abducted?"

Lu Xingzhou was a civilian worker, not even strong enough to tie a chicken, so he thought, "Even if it's only eleven feet, Qiu Niang is just a weak woman. If she jumps from here without any help, it will definitely make a noise. Could it be that the people in Luoshui Tower didn't notice anything?"

"No, Qiu Niang has a light and slender figure. If she wants to slip out through the window, she only needs to wear something thicker so that she won't make too much noise when she lands. She has been practicing dancing since she was a child, so her body is much more flexible than others. I'm afraid she won't get hurt when she lands."

Cui Bianxu was more inclined to believe that Qiu Niang left on her own, because Huang Ya said that Qiu Niang had once fallen in love with a down-and-out scholar. The scholar had no spare money and had no money at all. He often went to Luoshui Tower to look for her, and Qiu Niang would sneak out of the window to meet the scholar secretly.

Unfortunately, the scholar failed the exam for a long time and returned to his hometown in disgrace.

A brothel girl and a down-and-out scholar, this is a very cliché combination. Many brothel girls will place their hopes on a scholar who has not yet achieved success, hoping for the future, but the endings are mostly sad.

This is the modern equivalent of throwing money into the stock market.

Wang Leisheng had more say on this point: "These scholars are the most shameless. They even cheated the women in the brothel out of their money. I checked that scholar. He took the money given by Qiu Niang and returned to his hometown a long time ago. He has never returned to Chang'an."

He looked down on these poor scholars. Not to mention that they had little knowledge, they put on the airs of scholars but did dirty things. They also looked down on him because he came from a merchant family. Humph, what a bunch of shit!

"Has Qiu Niang found a new lover?" The poor scholar Lu Xingzhou felt that he was being attacked.

Cui Bianxu felt that he should not be considered a scholar. Since it was none of his business, he did not think there was anything wrong with what Lao Wang said. What kind of man is he if he spends a woman's money?

"Huang Ya said that on the 28th, Qiu Niang came back from outside and was acting mysterious. She refused to say anything when asked, only saying that she might be able to get some money recently and redeem herself soon."

Lu Xingzhou wrote this down and made a bold guess from this that Hongluan and Qiuniang both disappeared because they went to meet someone. What they needed to verify was who these two people were and whether they were the same person.

"There are no footprints on the window, only a thin layer of dust that looks like it's only accumulated over the past two days. This suggests Qiu Niang was very careful when she left and wiped the window carefully. Or, someone else wiped it after she left."

"Huangya!" Wang Leisheng and Lu Xingzhou shouted at the same time.

Cui Bianxu actually had some doubts about Huang Ya, but he couldn't understand why Huang Ya wiped the window if she was the one wiping it?

Considering her age, although she was obese, it was absolutely impossible for her to catch four women taller than her by herself and then dismember and dispose of their bodies.

Being fat and being strong are two different things. He has observed that Huang Ya is not good at martial arts.

Anyone who has dismembered a corpse knows that human bones are harder than chicken bones. It is not an easy task to cut a person into pieces, let alone four people.

Moreover, Huang Ya stayed in Luoshui Tower every day, especially after Qiu Niang disappeared, he never went out. If Qiu Niang jumped out of that window, she would be as light as a swallow, but if Huang Ya jumped out with his size, it would be like a bolt from the blue.

"Send someone to guard outside Luoshui Tower. If Huang Ya goes out, follow her and see where she goes."

"Yes."

Cui Bianxu saw that Lu Xingzhou had almost finished recording everything, so he pointed to the remaining two portraits and continued, "Wanxiang from Changle Pavilion disappeared around the early afternoon of New Year's Eve. According to the maid, she had eaten dinner an hour earlier than usual that day, and then went out with the fourth missing person, Qingmei from Qiuxiang Pavilion, to digest her meal."

The result is that digestion disappears.

Cui Bianxu picked up the cold water and motioned Wang Leisheng to continue.

The latter nodded and began to report to Lu Xingzhou, "The two's maids said they were always good friends, often practicing dancing together or just hanging out. That day, Qingmei went to Changle Pavilion to find Wanxiang, saying she had something to talk to her about. They've always been like this, so no one thought much of it. The brothel owner just told them to come back early so they don't miss the evening performance."

Cui Bianxu drank two glasses of cold water in a row and wanted a third. He smacked his lips and then silently put the glass down. He didn't know if it was because he had been here for so long, but he always felt that there was a strange taste in the water. "This time it was different. The madam even sent a thug to follow them, fearing they would get bumped into or something happened outside. But when they arrived at the East Gate of the East Market, Qingmei said she wanted to eat lotus root candy, but the East Market was too crowded and she was afraid it would dirty her clothes, so she asked the thug to go buy some."

"When the thug came back with the lotus root candy, the two of them had disappeared. He thought they had grown tired of waiting and had gone back."

The result is self-evident.

Lu Xingzhou wrote all of this down, rubbing his wrist as he spoke, "The East Market is bustling with people coming and going. Even outside the gates of several districts, there are many people coming in and out..."

Therefore, Qingmei and the other two left on their own.

Qingmei's maid said that her wife was always listless and had no appetite during that period, and was often dazed. If the people who performed the drum on New Year's Eve had not been selected long ago, she would not have been able to squeeze in.

"What reason could make the four ladies find a way to leave on their own?" Lu Xingzhou couldn't think of it, sighed, picked up the cold water and took a sip, then immediately put it on the table with a look of pain on his face, and leaned back. The taste was really deadly.

Cui Bianxu looked at Wang Leisheng: "How's the investigation going in the East Market? Any news?"

Even if these two people left on their own, two beautiful brothel ladies who dressed differently from ordinary people should have been seen by someone.

Wang Leisheng helplessly spread his hands and said, "Shaoqing, we only have so many people. We have to give the people below us a break. I will take people to investigate this matter later."

There are only so many yamen runners in the Dali Temple. Those who can be mobilized and are still in Chang'an have already been mobilized. As for those who are not in Chang'an for the New Year and are visiting relatives, it is impossible to allocate extra personnel to call them back at this time.

This case has been brought to the Dali Temple since the afternoon of the second day of the Lunar New Year, and it has not even been two days yet. How could it be investigated so quickly?

"Shaoqing, the kitchen said that breakfast is ready." A yamen runner came to call people to eat, but he stood at the door and didn't dare to come in. The smell inside was too strong. The whole yard was filled with the smell, and even the smell from the neighbors could be smelled.

Wang Leisheng's eyes lit up: "Shaoqing, eat first, we have to go out soon!"

Knowing that Chef Jiang from Lexianlou would come to cook for them, he was looking forward to it. Not only was it troublesome to go out to buy food, but the food would be cold when he brought it back in the cold weather. Even if he wrapped something outside the food box and put a heater underneath, the food would never taste as good as freshly cooked food.

Working overtime so hard and not even being able to eat a hot and fresh meal, isn’t that too bad?