Chapter 77 Zhu Geyong Dies, Everyone Shocked

Chapter 77: Zhu Geyong Dies, Shocking Everyone

"How did you discover the body?" Lin Wen asked.

Hu Tian, the owner of the kiln, replied, "Sir, today when we were pit firing, we smelled a smell of burnt meat. Since the clay pieces had been placed in the pit a few days ago, we initially thought a rat or something had crawled in and tried to poke it out with a stick. But who would have thought—we pulled out a person. Naturally, we were terrified, so we quickly fetched water to douse the fire and then reported to the authorities."

Xie Xuanran thought for a moment and asked, "When you first discovered the deceased in the fire, was he still conscious?"

The thin young apprentice thought it over and said, "I didn't hear any sound from the deceased the whole time. The pit had been sprinkled with kerosene beforehand, so the fire caught instantly. Flames searing the body, life hanging by a thread… If someone were conscious normally, they would have struggled and called for help."

"Yes, yes, we didn't hear any cries for help, nor did we see him move," Hu Tian and the slightly plumper apprentice nodded in agreement.

"Was the victim thrown into the pit after they were already dead?" Xie Xuanran murmured quietly. Wu Kun overheard him and said, "There's an officer inside who can do a quick examination of the corpse. I'll go in and ask."

With that, Wu Kun ran into the kiln. Lin Wen continued interrogating the three in front of him: "Do you usually live here? Did you notice anything unusual last night or recently?"

"Business has been slow recently, no need to tend the kiln fire all night. Little Ye and I take turns keeping watch at the shop. Nothing unusual lately. Last night, it was Little Ye's shift."

The plump Little Ye, who had been pointed out, quickly added, "Yes, I was at the shop last night. Nothing happened—everything was the same as usual. I have no idea how that dead man got into the pit!"

"Heh." Qin Jiao, who had been standing by listening, suddenly heard Xie Nai, who had been silent all along, let out a cold laugh as he looked at Little Ye. "Shifty eyes, deliberately straightened shoulders, fingernails digging deep into palms… He's lying."

"Prince, I wouldn't dare lie!"

Little Ye was so scared his knees buckled. He swallowed hard and stammered, defending himself: "I, I'm not lying. I didn't go anywhere last night, honest. I stayed at the shop the whole time."

"Licking lips, swallowing, tilting head slightly, tugging at clothes… typical signs of a guilty conscience," said Xie Nai. He'd seen plenty of captives in the military camp; this Ye's acting is just too clumsy.

"Not talking, huh?" Lin Wen narrowed his eyes. "Men, drag him out and beat him till he spills!"

As soon as Lin Wen finished speaking, someone came to drag Little Ye away. He trembled all over. "I'll talk, I'll talk… Last night on duty, I had some wine. When I was tipsy and drowsy, I thought I heard a dog barking. I thought I was dreaming."

Little Ye kept kowtowing to Xie Nai and Lin Wen. "Prince, Lord Chancellor, I really didn't mean to hide it. My family is poor; the whole family depends on me. I was scared if I spoke up, Boss Hu would think I slacked off and fire me."

Xie Xuanran looked indignant. "If your family's struggling, you should work harder. Laziness and drinking—you're a hopeless case!"

Little Ye wept bitterly. "I messed up. Boss Hu, don't fire me. I won't do it again!"

Hu Tian's face darkened, and he said nothing.

Qin Jiao noticed Xie Nai suddenly crouching beside a pile of clay. He asked suspiciously, "What did you find, Your Highness?" (Note: keep "Your Highness" here? Suggestion says use "Prince" in dialogue. But this is a question from Qin Jiao. Change to "Prince"? I'll change to "Prince" for consistency with other changes. Actually the suggestion says "use 'Prince' when addressing Xie Nai for clarity". So change to "Prince".)

"Hair."

Xie Nai picked up a tuft of grayish-yellow fur from the clay. The fur was close in color to the clay, hard to spot without close examination.

Qin Jiao leaned in and sniffed it. "Dog hair."

Xie Nai looked at Qin Jiao, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Catching Xie Nai's confusion, Qin Jiao explained, "Because when I was little, I was chased by Jiang Qingrong's dog. So the smell of dogs—I'll remember that smell for the rest of my life."

Xie Nai nodded without a word. Qin Jiao looked around and saw that there was a lot of dog hair here, like a dog slaughtering site.

"Boss, that's tiger sand clay!" the thin apprentice yelled in shock. Hu Tian's face changed instantly. He rushed over to Qin Jiao, and when he saw the dog hair mixed into the clay, his face turned ashen:

"Heavens! How'd so much dog hair get in this tiger sand clay! An out-of-town merchant ordered a batch of clay horses, and this clay is needed right away!"

The more Hu Tian thought about it, the more distraught he became. He pointed at Little Ye, his hand trembling with anger. "I hired you out of kindness because your family is poor, and this is how you repay me? Now with dog hair in the clay, how can I deliver on time!"

For ceramics, clay is an extremely important raw material. If the raw material is compromised, all subsequent steps are delayed.

"Boss Hu, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to!" Little Ye kept apologizing.

"It's over… all over…" Hu Tian's eyes red, he collapsed onto the ground.

Lin Wen also crouched beside the pile of tiger sand clay. "There are signs of a struggle near this tiger sand clay. Also, there's tiger sand clay on the ground from here all the way to where the body was discovered."

Everyone followed Lin Wen's pointing finger. The floor of the awning at Hu's kiln was covered with small yellowish-black stones, which extended to the back door. Because the stones were very similar in color to the tiger sand clay, Qin Jiao took a moment to spot the marks Lin Wen mentioned.

"If there was a fight here, it would've been loud. Tongsheng, go ask the shops around here."

"At once!"

The area around Hu's kiln was full of shops and residences. If Qin Jiao could smell the odor from Jushengxuan, then surely the neighbors would have heard any commotion last night.

"It's all your fault for drinking on duty!" Hu Tian glared at Little Ye again. "Pack your bags and get out now. This little shop can't keep you on!"

"Boss, give me one more chance! Wuwu…" Little Ye clung to Boss Hu's leg, wailing in a high-pitched, piercing voice that made everyone wince.

"Prince, Lord Chancellor, the body has been removed!" Just then, Wu Kun came out to report.

The thin apprentice quickly pulled Little Ye aside to clear the way for Xie Nai and the others.

The cleaned body lay on a broken door board. The face, not fully charred, was wiped clean, showing who it was.

"Zhu Geyong?" Qin Jiao stared in shock at Xie Nai. "How could it be him?"

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