At night, the dead Duan Yunxuan was in a cold and dark place. All the servants were sent elsewhere, leaving only a few guards outside the doors. Su Yan climbed over the wall and entered without attracting anyone's attention.

The house He Shuang lives in is in the westernmost corner, far away from the triple corridor and the parliament pavilion. It is along the woods to the west, separated only by a wall and connected by a wooden door. It used to be a place where a group of maids lived together, but later they left and were transferred.

After the transfer, only He Shuang was left to live alone.

Su Yan did not go straight to the scene of the crime, but bypassed Heshuang's house and came to the pond behind. He pushed aside the weeds to explore the depth of the water, and then observed the water surface. He seemed to have caught some clues in his mind.

"Tell me, if you were a murderer, why would you kill an unknown maid?"

The gray-white shadow squatting aside shook the folding fan and said nonchalantly: "If I were her master and committed a crime, the most I could do would be to scold her. If I were a servant who worked with her, and there was a conflict between the two of them, I would be scolded."

At most, the road is facing the sky, and everyone goes to one side. If he kills someone, it must be because he has done something that makes me extremely angry, or she has discovered an ulterior secret and has to kill him."

"Yes, it's a secret! A mere maid with no money or sex, who would be killed by love? Furthermore, she rarely leaves the academy. According to people who work with her, she never crosses paths with others and is very devoted to her career.

Damn it, where did she get her enemies from? Then the most likely possibility is that she discovered some secret and was killed to silence her."

"What is the secret that would kill a weak woman?" Xilou thought for a long time and couldn't think of the reason. Seeing that Su Yan was still studying the pool, he jumped over in a few steps and asked: "

What are you looking at here?"

Su Yan patted away the water stains, stood up and said, "Changsun Yue discovered that He Shuang opened the door to a stranger, and saw that the man was rummaging for something before leaving. Thinking about it now, He Shuang might have opened the door to a stranger that night.

He has been killed, and the thing the murderer was looking for is most likely the key evidence! But he probably couldn't find it, because He Shuang threw the thing into the pond behind the house."

Xilou subconsciously glanced at the water surface covered with weeds and asked her: "Why throw it away?"

"Knowing that the deadline is approaching, I cannot let the evidence fall into the hands of the murderer."

Xilou closed the fan and asked: "How can she be sure that one day we will pay attention to this pond?"

"Because, Chang Sun Yue!" Su Yan walked back to the slightly hidden front door of the house, then walked on the moldy moss road to the half-opened wooden door and took a closer look.

"What's wrong?" Xilou couldn't help but ask.

"The keyhole of this door is full of rust spots. It seems that it has been abandoned for a long time." Su Yan closed the door, but found that it was very laborious. "It is difficult to close the door. It should have been open all the time. Look under the door.

The traces left by people's footsteps include not only those left by the Ministry of Justice when they investigated the case that day, but also the shoe prints of many women. It is expected that this is a shortcut for the maids." She moved away and looked at the new staggered marks left on the moss ground.

"The Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple also paid attention to this door yesterday and gathered here to discuss it for a long time."

Xilou watched Su Yan close the door and open it, then walk in and out again and again. He walked around the door and still couldn't come to a conclusion. He couldn't stand it any longer, so he immediately reached out to stop her, "Don't you think this door is related to the murderer?"

Does it have anything to do with it? If it did, the Ministry of Punishment and Dali Temple would have discovered it long ago, and the woods outside are more relevant than this door!"

Su Yanzheng lowered his head and repeatedly checked whether there were any other clues in the footprints on the ground. He was awakened by Xilou's words and hurriedly looked at the woods outside the door.

"The woods, the rusty keyhole, the passage for the maids, and what Chang Sun Yue saw with his own eyes... I ask you, was this door open the day Dali Temple came over?"

"I wasn't there that day, but Zuo Qing was. They said they noticed something was wrong with the door, so they opened it to check, but found nothing. They thought it was an illusion."

"It turns out that this door was closed on the day of the crime, but the keyhole was covered with rust. It seemed that it had been left open all the time and was exposed to wind, sun and rain."

"It's also possible that it's just unlocked. How could the Punishment Department not notice it?"

"Look there," Su Yan pointed to the wall behind the door. The wall was covered with moss, but one area was a different color from the surrounding areas. She reopened the door and leaned against the wall, just covering that area.

Xilou suddenly realized it and said in shock: "As you said, this door has never been closed!"

Su Yan felt that the clues in his mind were slowly being pieced together, becoming more and more complete: "Suppose that on the night of the crime, the murderer came from the woods, passed by the open door, and knocked on He Shuang's door. He Shuang knew

While the murderers had impure intentions, they discovered that Changsun Yue was hiding in the woods and peeping at them, so they threw the evidence into a pond overgrown with weeds. If something unexpected happened to him, Changsun Yue was afraid and would definitely report it to Lord Changsun. As long as the Ministry of Punishment

If you come to check this pond, you have a high chance of finding evidence. After killing the person, the murderer planned to escape the same way. Feeling guilty, he closed the door that should have been open, and then escaped over the wall in an attempt to cover up his escape route.

.”

Xilou couldn't help but clapped his hands and praised: "Ayan really has Zhuge's thoughts! Then through these clues, can you determine the murderer?"

Su Yan shook his head: "I can only confirm that what Chang Sun Yue said is true. Apart from this, at most I know that the murderer and the deceased knew each other, and it was not the first time that he took this shortcut, but he was definitely not a servant of Duan Yunxuan, and the servant would not

I didn't know this door was broken." A flash of inspiration flashed through her and she asked hurriedly, "Let me ask you again, when did the academy start to close its doors?"

Xilou said: "It's the time when Wanchaofang closes its doors, Xu Shi."

"Xu Shi? It's just dark. Changsun Yue said that it was just dark that day. Go and inform Zuo Qing quickly to investigate all the outsiders that day. Although they are not registered, day and night alternate, and when the door is closed, the guards must have an impression!"

Xilou was confused: "Didn't you say that Heshuang has no enemies outside?"

"Everything is speculation, so everything we do now is to verify. Also, let the Ministry of Punishment come to the pond to fish."

Xilou inserted his fan into his belt, rubbed his hands and said, "It's so cold, why bother bothering the Ministry of Justice anymore? I'll go get it!"

As expected, there was indeed evidence in the pond, which was a sweat towel stuffed in a porcelain vase. When Xi Lou fished it out, it was floating in the area with the most weeds.

Su Yan walked around in the dim room, touched his chin and said, "Sweat scarf...a woman's sweat scarf, is this the murderer's or who's?"

Xilou picked up the candle with a needle and said: "Sometimes a sweat towel can be identified in one direction, but sometimes, it is just a sweat towel."

Su Yan asked: "Has anyone checked who came in and out of the academy that night?"

He shook his head: "The guards were changing guard when the door was closed that night, and no one was seen coming in or out. It seems that the murderer sneaked in while the guard changing was empty, or he might have hid until the next day before leaving while the crowd of contestants were recruiting relatives.

"

"How insidious!" Su Yan threw the sweat towel to the ground with force. "Chang Sunyue didn't see the murderer clearly. He didn't know whether it was a man or a woman. The sweat towel couldn't identify the owner, and the guards didn't see it. Now, all the clues are gone.

Got it!"

"Who said it's over? You, I said you were smart yesterday, but now you are confused again."

Su Yan was confused.

Xilou said: "Since the murderer hasn't found the scarf, he will definitely come again. Even if he doesn't come, he will always pay attention to this matter. Once there is any trouble, everything will be in chaos. If we set a trap again, we will ensure that he falls into the trap!"

Su Yan jumped up and said, "What a great idea! Then I'll hurry up and spread the word."

Xilou watched a shadow passing by quickly, shrugged and said to himself: "It's still so arrogant. I really can't do anything about you."

The next day, there was still no movement in the academy, and the sound of the wind seemed to have disappeared into the sea.

Su Yan hurriedly ran to Wanchaofang. As soon as he entered the yard, he bumped into Changsun Xi. Su Yan took a breath of cold air and subconsciously took a step back, thinking: Enemies meet on a narrow road!

Changsun Xi held an unknown object wrapped in brocade cloth in his arms. He glanced at her and laughed out of his throat: "No matter how anxious Mr. Su is, you don't have to be like this. It's not even dark yet, so you can't wait any longer?" She turned back.

He glanced at Wan Chaofang and continued, "The head of the house is not available right now. You'd better come back in the evening. It's just in line with his wishes."

Su Yan was furious and was about to have a fit when suddenly he had a flash of idea and wanted to scare her, so he said: "You have the ability to ridicule others, so you might as well keep to yourself. Now that someone has died in Duan Yunxuan, everyone is so scared that they dare not go out.

It would be a good idea for you to come to Wanchaofang. Which way did you take when you came?"

"Lu? What do you mean?"

"It's nothing. I was just like you yesterday, wandering around without fear of death. I suddenly decided to go to Wanchaofang for a walk and took a shortcut in the woods to the west of Duanyunxuan. Guess what I saw?" Su Yanjian

She was no longer in the mood to ridicule herself, and couldn't help but feel proud, "I saw people from the Criminal Department handling a case there! Good guy, there are a lot of people, and the head of Xuan Ting is also here, and that's called a charming Yushu Linfeng..."

"Tell me the important point." Changsun Xi said impatiently.

Su Yan smiled cunningly: "You also know that Master Nangong knows me, so he kindly reminded me not to take that road during this period to avoid causing trouble, because places where people have died are very evil!"

"It's ridiculous! There are no ghosts in the world, so don't be alarmist!"

"Even if there is no ghost, you'd better not go there. The Criminal Department is very strict in investigating cases. Anyone who gets close will be suspected of being the murderer if they are not careful."

"That's you. I am the eldest grandson of the Changsun family. How dare he doubt me?!"

"There are no relatives or friends in front of the case. The most important thing is to catch the murderer. The main reason is that the road connects to the west gate of Duanyunxuan. The west gate has always been the passage for maids. The Criminal Department suspects that there is something fishy about that door."

"Men? What's wrong with the door?" Changsun Xi suddenly looked frightened, but immediately realized her gaffe and calmed down almost instantly. However, her change could not escape Su Yan's eyes.

Su Yan still said calmly: "The door didn't seem to have been closed all the time, but it was closed inexplicably on the day of the crime. Do you think it's strange or not? Maybe the murderer closed it deliberately to cover up his escape route! Then

Judging from the side, there will definitely be clues left nearby, and among the clues, there may be evidence to prove the identity of the murderer."

Changsun Xi laughed dryly: "What does it have to do with me...I, let me tell you, I came here today on the right path!"

"Hey, let me remind you that there are already officers and soldiers guarding the place, so you don't have to go there in vain."

Changsun Xi stared at her suspiciously, always feeling strange: "Why are you telling me this?"

"For Chang Sun Yue's sake, you are sisters after all, otherwise it would be thankless for a ghost to tell you this!" After that, he strode into Wan Chao's room.

Changsun Xi could no longer control his fear, lifted up his skirt and left in a hurry.

It was really hard to find anywhere, and it took no effort to get here! Su Yan suddenly felt refreshed and ran to find the West Tower. Wan Chaofang seemed to have just arrived a batch of tributes, and the West Tower was inspecting them. Su Yan

Yan waited outside the door until the last two servants left before he cautiously entered.

Xilou made a pot of tea and said with a smile: "Why, are you afraid of breaking my baby?"

Su Yan paused in his steps and couldn't help but roll his eyes: "It sounds like I'm talking about you, how shameless."

"It's not mine, but it's a tribute from my father. Here, I'll show you the freshly baked colored glaze." He then moved a large item from the iron shelf and wrapped it in three layers of paper.

What came out was a translucent blue and white glazed triangular bottle with a lot of red water droplets sprinkled on it.

Xilou proudly displayed it: "This treasure has been continuously carved by thirty craftsmen, and it is the best of the best." At this point, his eyes that were excited just now dimmed, "In order to rush to make this thing,

The craftsmen work day and night and dare not neglect. But the reward is a small amount of wages that cannot even satisfy food and clothing. A weak country has no dignity and is extremely cowardly!"

As he spoke, he sighed bitterly: "The Yan State was not so useless in the past. Probably after the death of Empress Yu, Emperor Rong began to impose taxes on the Yan State, and the annual tribute increased by 30%!"

Empress Yu... Su Yan rarely heard Xilou mention her. When Princess Yan remarried, it caused a sensation in the six countries. Folks were saying that such a perfect beauty must be worthy of a hero like Emperor Rong. Su Yan was also like this at that time
To be continued...