Guided by Qi Lei, Ji Lingchuan stepped into the yard and silently scanned the surroundings.
Qi Lei's yard was not large, but it had a kitchen, a bedroom, and a living room. There was a large pile of wood in the corner of the yard, and next to it were tools such as saws, axes, and planes. Wood chips were scattered on the ground, and on a table nearby, there was an almost - finished dressing box.
Ji Lingchuan recognized it as a dressing box because he had seen a similar one in Song Nanxin's room.
Before coming here, he had heard from the magistrate that Qi Lei was nearly forty years old and still unmarried. He had no relatives in the capital and lived alone in this small yard.
Since he was unmarried and had no relatives, for whom was this dressing box being made?
Seeing Ji Lingchuan looking in that direction, Gu Yunzheng also sensed something unusual. He walked forward, picked up the unfinished dressing box on the table, examined it, and looked up with a smile.
"I didn't expect that besides selling noodles at the dock of the pleasure - boat pier, Hero Qi is also good at carpentry?"
Qi Lei blushed shyly and said, "My skills are rather rough. It's just a way to kill time in my spare time. It's not something to be proud of."
Gu Yunzheng said, "Hero Qi is being too modest. The surface of this object is smooth, and the rivets fit perfectly. Even outside, this skill could outshine many carpenters. I'm just wondering if this is for sale or for your own use?"
Qi Lei replied, "This is not for sale. It's a gift."
"Oh, so it's a gift." Gu Yunzheng raised his eyebrows, put the thing down, and didn't ask any more questions.
Ji Lingchuan sneered silently in his heart when he saw Gu Yunzheng's reaction.
He wondered what expression Gu Yunzheng would have on his face if he knew that this dressing box would most likely end up in Song Yihuan's hands and that Qi Lei had a close relationship with her.
"Gentlemen and the magistrate, if you don't mind the mess and the plain tea in my humble abode, why don't we go inside and talk?" Qi Lei invited them.
Ji Lingchuan withdrew his gaze from the dressing box and said calmly, "No need to go to so much trouble. Let's talk here."
The magistrate, who had already taken a step forward, retracted his foot. He coughed twice and said to Qi Lei, "Old Qi, I'm sure you've heard about the case that happened in the capital recently. Lord Ling and Lord Gu are here today because of that case."
Qi Lei, who had been rather casual before, became serious upon hearing this. "So the two gentlemen are here because of that case. I wonder if there's anything I can do to help?"
"It seems that Hero Qi also knows something about this case." Gu Yunzheng walked back. "We're here today because we have some questions for you."
The magistrate and Gu Yunzheng explained their purpose to Qi Lei. When he learned that Ji Lingchuan suspected that the murderer had used the waterways to commit the crimes, he looked surprised and then began to think.
"If the murderer really used the waterways to commit the crimes, it is indeed possible to get from the east of the city to the south and then to the west in such a short time. But..." He hesitated.
"But what?" Ji Lingchuan looked at him.
Qi Lei said, "Even if the murderer used the waterways and acted at night, the sound of rowing would still attract attention. After the incident, I heard people talking about this case. As far as I know, only three of the families were near a river, and the other two were in the center of the city. It's unlikely that the waterways were involved."
Gu Yunzheng frowned and said, "But we saw moss and water stains near the bodies. If the murderer didn't come from the waterways, did he come out of the ground?"
Gu Yunzheng's careless words reminded Ji Lingchuan. He looked up at the magistrate and asked, "I remember that the capital once renovated its water channels?"
The magistrate looked embarrassed. "This... I can't remember clearly..."
Gu Yunzheng was from Yunzhou and had only been in the capital for two years. He knew nothing about the old things in the capital. It was Qi Lei who chimed in.
"Lord Ling is right. The capital did renovate its water channels once. I even participated in the excavation of the new ones."
The two of them looked at each other and said in unison, "The old channels!"
The water channels were hidden underground and criss - crossed like a spider's web. Once it rained in the capital, these channels would be very useful, quickly draining the water from the city into the moat outside.
After the new water channels were built, the old ones were naturally abandoned. If someone was familiar with the distribution of the underground water channels, it was indeed very possible to rush from one house to another to commit crimes in a short time.
This visit really surprised Ji Lingchuan. Qi Lei looked like an ordinary civilian, and his attitude towards them was humble but not servile. He was also very intelligent.
Putting other things aside, Qi Lei was valuable because he could provide useful clues for this case.
Next, all they had to do was go back to the crime scenes and see if there were any abandoned water channels in the victims' homes to confirm the murderer's route.
Ji Lingchuan nodded to Qi Lei and said, "Thank you, Hero Qi, for the clues. If we can catch the murderer smoothly, the government will reward you according to your merits."
Qi Lei smiled indifferently. "How can this be considered a merit? It's not worth mentioning, and there's no need for a reward."
Qi Lei's open - mindedness made Ji Lingchuan think more highly of him.
His eyes fell on the dressing box again, and his eyes darkened.
It was a pity...
After asking Qi Lei a few more details, Ji Lingchuan and the others left.
...
After leaving the Western Market, Song Yihuan avoided the noisy crowd and came to a small river. She tore the prescription into pieces and threw it into the river.
Watching the paper get wet and sink into the water, her expression under the veil was extremely solemn.
She never thought that the reason why her elder sister couldn't have a child was a miscarriage.
It seemed that her elder sister was no longer a virgin. After marrying into the Prince Ning's Mansion, she had an affair behind Ji Lingchuan's back!
She thought this secret would be her trump card to break free from her elder sister's control, but this secret was beyond her imagination. If her elder sister found out that she knew the truth, her elder sister would surely kill her to keep it a secret.
She could expose her elder sister's secret regardless of the consequences, but all she had now was a prescription. Without any evidence of her elder sister's affair, her elder sister would turn the tables on her.
Moreover, if she did that, not only would the disgraced Prince Ning's Mansion not tolerate her, but the Marquis Ding'an's Mansion and the Meng family would also not let her go. Then her plan to leave the capital with Xuan'er would completely fail.
She wouldn't take this risky step of fighting to the death unless it was absolutely necessary.
For herself and Xuan'er, she couldn't make any mistakes. She had to be extremely careful.