Chapter 78 Porcelain Merchant Luo Yiqi Becomes Suspect

Chapter 78: The Porcelain Merchant Luo Yiqi Becomes a Suspect

Wasn't Zhu Geyong under Xie Nai's watch? How could he show up dead here out of nowhere?

"Where is Luo Nan?" As soon as Xie Nai spoke, a black-clad man with a golden mask appeared out of thin air. "Reporting, my prince!"

"Send Luo Ri to me."

"Yes!"

The black-clad man acknowledged and vanished with a burst of qinggong. Qin Jiao watched, dumbfounded. Beside him, Xie Xuanran whispered to Qin Jiao, "The Prince has four close guards: Luo Bei and Luo Yue in the open, Luo Nan and Luo Ri in the shadows."

"I see." Qin Jiao nodded to himself, noting that the four guards' names were quite symmetrical.

"What are the initial findings of the corpse examination?"

As Lin Wen finished speaking, an official around forty years old stepped forward: "Reporting to the Chancellor, upon examination, the deceased's hands and feet were clenched, and the eye wrinkles looked like goose claws, consistent with the person being alive when the fatal injuries occurred."

"He was killed while still alive? Meaning Zhu Geyong was burned alive?" Qin Jiao wondered.

"Precisely, the deceased died from suffocation due to burns. After cleaning, we found that the face, ears, nostrils, and throat were all clogged with amber sand mud."

The official gestured for everyone to look at a small dish holding a lump of bloody mud. "This type of amber sand mud expands and becomes extremely hot upon heating. Within seconds, it can cause a person to lose consciousness and suffocate. Combined with the fact that the deceased had a broken arm and leg before dying, making movement difficult, there was no chance of escape."

Just as the official finished speaking, Tongsheng, who had been sent to inquire, returned.

"Master, I've got answers. The neighbors say they did hear a commotion last night—a big dog chasing and biting someone. One elderly woman said the dog was as large as a wolf and very fierce." Tongsheng said, breathless.

Connecting the clues, Qin Jiao made a bold guess: "Maybe it went like this: Zhu Geyong was chased here by a vicious dog, accidentally fell into the amber sand mud, and to avoid the dog, hid inside the kiln, only to be burned alive?"

"The hypothesis is reasonable." Xie Xuanran nodded in agreement. "But why was Zhu Geyong here? And was the vicious dog deliberately released?"

The first question was soon answered, when another of Xie Nai's shadow guards, Luo Ri, arrived.

Like Luo Nan, Luo Ri wore a mask, but his was silver.

According to Luo Ri, he had been keeping an eye on Zhu Geyong's residence, but never expected that Zhu's mansion had a secret passage leading to the back alley of the Pleasure Pavilion. Even after being beaten half-crippled by Jiang Qingrong, Zhu Geyong's lecherous nature remained unchanged. As soon as he could get out of bed, he used the passage to visit the new courtesan at the Pleasure Pavilion.

When Luo Ri discovered Zhu Geyong missing, he immediately began searching. By the time Luo Nan found Luo Ri, he had just finished questioning the madam of the Pleasure Pavilion.

"Reporting to the Prince, I have questioned the madam of the Pleasure Pavilion. She said that when Zhu Geyong left the Pleasure Pavilion, he mentioned going to settle a score with someone. We haven't heard from him since." Luo Ri knelt on one knee. "I failed in my duty. Please punish me, Prince."

Xie Nai waved his hand. "Go and receive your punishment."

"Yes!" Luo Ri and Luo Nan vanished together. Lin Wen sneered at Zhu Geyong's corpse. "Womanizing and drinking—that's what killed him."

Qin Jiao could see Lin Wen clearly thought he had it coming.

"We also found this in the deceased's hand." Wu Kun presented an object for everyone to see.

It was a small white goose porcelain piece about the size of an adult's thumb. Beneath the white goose was a delicate green lotus leaf. The little white goose was exquisitely crafted, looking incredibly cute and endearing.

The moment Qin Jiao saw the little white goose, his expression changed slightly. Xie Nai noticed the shift in his companion's demeanor. "What's wrong?"

"This little white goose was made by Luo Yiqi." Seeing the confusion on everyone's faces, Qin Jiao explained, "Luo Yiqi is the street vendor who hurt his hand protecting Qin Han on the night of the New Year's Eve Lantern Festival. The little white geese he makes all have red beaks and blue eyes, making them easy to recognize."

Luo Yiqi had given Qin Jiao many small trinkets before, so Qin Jiao recognized the little white goose as Luo Yiqi's work at a glance.

"As far as I know, on the night of the New Year's Eve Lantern Festival, Zhu Geyong and Luo Yiqi had a dispute over an Exquisite Hundred-Flower Palace Lantern. So after leaving the Pleasure Pavilion, did Zhu Geyong go looking for Luo Yiqi?" Xie Xuanran speculated.

"Let's go to Luo Yiqi's home."

Xie Nai made a quick decision. Since Xie Xuanran's identity was too sensitive for him to go to Luo Yiqi's home, Xie Nai looked at Lin Wen and said, "Escort Mingjia to the palace."

"Uncle, Young Master Qin, be careful." Qin Jiao smiled at Xie Xuanran. Lin Wen raised his hand, half-draping it over Xie Xuanran's shoulder. "Let's go. Watch your step."

—

Luo Yiqi's home was not far from the Qin residence. When Qin Jiao led Xie Nai there, a crowd had already gathered outside the Luo house, including some Grand Court officials in robes.

"Someone beat us here?" Qin Jiao and Xie Nai exchanged glances.

"Let's go in and see." The Grand Court officials naturally recognized Xie Nai. Seeing the Prince of Lingnan arrive, someone quickly escorted him and Qin Jiao inside.

Qin Jiao had never been to Luo Yiqi's home before. Upon entering the courtyard, he saw three brick houses with tiled roofs. Through the open windows, he saw the interior was neatly arranged.

One of the three houses served as a kitchen and storage room. In another room, a low wall had been built in the middle, with two beds placed on either side—Luo Yiqi's and his mother's sleeping quarters. In the northwest corner of the small yard stood a separate house that had been converted into a kiln for firing porcelain. Some pine wood and semi-finished porcelain pieces were neatly stacked outside.

Many officials stood in the yard. Shen Fuqing, in black brocade, sat on an old pinewood armchair. Seeing Xie Nai and Qin Jiao, he raised an eyebrow with a rebellious look.

"News travels fast. I just found Liu Yao's killer, and here you are."

"Liu Yao's killer is here?" Xie Nai's eyes darkened.

"What? You weren't here for that?" Shen Fuqing asked in confusion.

"We're here for another murder case." Xie Nai briefly explained the "kiln murder" to Shen Fuqing. After hearing it, Shen Fuqing laughed scornfully. "First Liu Yao gets killed, then the thug from the Embroidered Tower dies in prison, and now Zhu Geyong is burned to death... This case is getting more and more interesting."

All the evidence in both murder cases pointed to Luo Yiqi, but Qin Jiao hadn't seen him yet. Qin Jiao asked, "Where is Luo Yiqi?"

"Over there." Shen Fuqing jerked his chin, and the officials parted.

"Mmph! Mmph!" A man in a brown short jacket, bound tightly, appeared before Qin Jiao. Luo Yiqi was gagged and had bruises on his face, apparently beaten.

After the officials removed the cloth from Luo Yiqi's mouth, he immediately shouted, "I didn't kill Liu Yao! I didn't kill Zhu Geyong either! These officials barged in for no reason and said I was a murderer. I'm innocent! Little Master Qin, please save me!"

Luo Yiqi's honest face was red from anxiety. Qin Jiao gently comforted him, "Calm down first. Just answer a few questions."

"Alright! Little Master, ask me anything you want."

Qin Jiao raised his hand, palm down, motioning for Luo Yiqi to stay calm. "Luo Yiqi, did Zhu Geyong come looking for you last night?"

"No, he didn't! The neighbors can testify."

When Luo Yiqi heard Xie Nai say Zhu Geyong was dead, he was terrified and shocked. "I may hate Zhu Geyong for his cruelty, but I would never dare to kill him!"

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