Ci Jinzhi

  He Qingxiao is used to using knives, so there are cocoons in his tiger's mouth. What kind of person has black and hard knees?

  Wu Zuo continued to deduce: "The deceased's skin was rough, and there seemed to be stains between his fingers that could not be washed off for a long time. He didn't look like a scholar..."

  He Qingxiao had a thought, and thought of a possibility.

   "Thanks for your hard work, let's go out first."

  The place where the corpses were parked was already half underground. In addition, the case was so big that ice was placed to prevent the corpses from decomposing.

   There is a cool breeze outside and the sun is clear, sweeping away the coldness of the morgue.

  He Qingxiao strode out and went back to the yamen to make arrangements: "Go and check the beggars everywhere to see if there are any beggars who are similar in age and height to the deceased who suddenly disappeared."

  The deceased was not too old. If he was just doing ordinary physical work, this kind of situation is unlikely to occur at the knee. Even for a slave, all he needs to do is bow to his master. Kneeling is only done when he makes a mistake and begs for forgiveness. One type of people whose knees rub against each other for a long time is beggars who kneel and beg.

  In the capital, those beggars who can beg safely are all organized, which is the so-called gang of beggars. There are more than a dozen beggar gangs, large and small, in the capital, and the sphere of influence has been divided early. If there are beggars who cross the border, they will not be able to please.

  Although there are many beggars in the capital, it is easy to handle if there is power division. Jin Linwei approached the leaders of the various beggar gangs, and these leaders arranged the tasks, but within two days they found out the list of beggars who suddenly disappeared on their own territory.

  He Qingxiao read the list carefully, and circled five people. Two of these five beggars are in Dongcheng.

  Of course, apart from these five people, there are many others on the list. It is too common for people living at the bottom, such as beggars, to disappear or die silently. Considering time constraints and limited manpower, we will start with the five most likely beggars.

   Fortunately, Jin Linwei took the beggars who knew the missing beggar to identify the body, and one of the beggars recognized him.

   "It's the second dog!"

  After understanding, Ergou is one of the two missing beggars in Dongcheng.

  The beggar mainly begs at the base of the wall outside Yanzi Hutong. He was often accompanied by an old beggar and a young beggar.

   Led by a beggar, He Qingxiao met the old beggar.

  The old beggar had been sick for some days, and now he was lying on a layer of straw under the bridge hole, looking dying.

  The old beggar was taken care of by a seven or eight-year-old beggar, and the two were grandparents.

  Seeing He Qingxiao approaching, the little beggar looked wary, like a small beast whose territory had been invaded suddenly.

  He Qingxiao squatted down, and asked the old beggar in a gentle tone: "Old man, is it convenient to talk?"

  The old beggar's muddy eyes widened slightly, and he looked suspiciously at the beggar who led the way.

   The beggar hurriedly said: "This is the master of Jinlinwei. I asked you to understand the matter. You have to answer the master's words well."

  Hearing what the beggar said, the old beggar couldn't help feeling a little nervous, and the little beggar shrank his pupils in shock.

  How keen He Qingxiao was, he immediately noticed that the little beggar's reaction was a little unusual.

   "You said—" the old beggar spoke with difficulty.

  He Qingxiao ordered the subordinates who followed: "Feed the old man a few sips of water to moisturize his throat."

  The subordinates took off the water bottle hanging from their waist, unplugged it and fed the old beggar a few mouthfuls.

  The water was still lukewarm. The old beggar hadn't drank hot water for a long time, and after taking a few sips of warm water, he actually regained some energy.

  Seeing this, He Qingxiao asked, "There is a man named Ergou, is he begging on the same street as you?"

  The old beggar nodded.

   "When was the last time you saw him?"

  The old beggar shook his head, his voice was hoarse and old: "The villain has been sick for half a month, and he has been lying here. I saw him before he got sick."

  He Qingxiao looked at the little beggar.

  The little beggar was tense all over, biting his lip unconsciously: "I, I didn't notice—"

  The beggar who led the way gave the little beggar a look: "Guzi, your grandfather is sick, don't you go begging for food every day, why didn't you pay attention?"

  Seeing that the little beggar named Guzi was getting more nervous, He Qingxiao took out a handful of copper coins from his purse and handed it to the beggar who led the way: "Go and buy some soft cakes that are easy to digest. You and Grandpa Guzi will fill your stomachs."

  The beggar who led the way happily ran away grabbing the copper coins.

   Guzi swallowed when he heard the soft cake.

  He Qingxiao signaled his subordinates to take good care of the old beggar, and pointed not far away: "Guzi, let's go there and talk."

   Gu Zi hesitated for a moment, but he didn't dare to resist, and followed He Qingxiao to the willow tree not far away.

  It is already the end of autumn, the willow leaves are blown away by the wind like withered butterflies, and the willow trees that are no longer luxuriant appear a bit bleak.

   "Guzi, do you know that Ergou is missing?"

  He Qingxiao's straightforwardness made Guzi's face change drastically: "I don't know anything!"

  He wanted to run, but dared not.

  The man in front of him is the official, a word can kill him and grandpa.

  He Qingxiao saw the little beggar's fear, and his tone became more gentle: "Don't be afraid. As long as you answer my question well, I will send your grandfather to the hospital for treatment."

   "Really?" Gu Zi's eyes showed eagerness.

   "I am an official of the imperial court, how could I lie to you as a child."

   "But—" Gu Zi hesitated, both excited that Grandpa could be healed, but also worried about something.

  He Qingxiao guessed that Gu Zi might have done something disgraceful, which made him dare not speak out.

He stretched out his hand and patted the little beggar on the shoulder encouragingly: "You are still young, even if you are forced to do something, as long as it is not murder and arson, you can be treated leniently or even not pursued. If you conceal the truth, it will delay the investigation. If the case progresses, there will be trouble."

  Guzi listened to He Qingxiao's words, and asked cautiously: "Are you really not going to pursue it?"

   "Then did you kill and set fire?" He Qingxiao asked seriously.

  If he really wanted to commit such a crime, he would certainly not be held accountable, and he didn't want to coax a child.

   Gu Zi hurriedly shook his head: "No!"

  He Qingxiao smiled: "Then don't be afraid."

  He was born very well, this smile turned into a clear spring in spring like the first melting of winter snow.

   Gu Zi was stunned, and trust was vaguely born in his heart: such a good-looking adult, he shouldn't be able to lie.

   "Then it will also treat my grandfather?"

"meeting."

   "But my grandpa is very ill, and the treatment will cost a lot of money."

  The smile on the lips of Mr. He stagnated, and then he said calmly: "It's okay, I have money."

   Gu Zi finally felt relieved: "Then you can ask."

   "When was the last time you saw Ergou?"

   "It was... the night of six days ago."

  The night of six days ago?

  He Qingxiao recalled that the body at the gate of the Imperial College was found in the early morning five days ago.

   That is to say, Gu Zi is likely to be the last person to see the deceased.

  He Qingxiao took it very seriously in his heart, and didn't show anything on his face, so as not to put pressure on Gu Zi: "What was the situation at that time?"

   "I—" Gu Zi bit her lip hard, and suddenly choked up, "I saw the murderer!"