noffsinger Chapter 1121 The handle
Chapter 1121 The handle
On the way to Zhuqing Lane, Shen Zheng asked Xu Yunyan, "Why didn't you dodge just now? Although she rushed forward, she hesitated when she raised her hand. If you had taken half a step back, you could have avoided it. If it weren't for Old Madam Wang stopping you in time, wouldn't you have taken that slap?"
They say you shouldn't hit someone in the face.
A slap to the face might not hurt much, but it's definitely embarrassing.
Xu Yunyan was silent for a moment, then said in a low voice, "If I hadn't taken over as the prefectural magistrate, Lord Wang might not have been in danger."
"So you're taking the blame yourself?" Shen Zheng said helplessly, "According to you, the person who should have been slapped was me, not you. After all, you have no enemies in the government office, so the other party was most likely targeting me."
Xu Yunyan was slightly taken aback, and subconsciously said, "But you did nothing wrong. If we're really talking about it, you and Lord Wang are both victims."
Seeing that he understood this, Shen Zheng sighed, "So we didn't do anything wrong, it's just that Lord Wang has suffered..."
Thinking of Wang Huai'an's pale face, Shen Zheng felt a tightness and suffocation in her heart.
I did not kill Bo Ren, but Bo Ren "died" because of me.
How could she not blame herself?
The two remained silent as they arrived at Zhuqing Alley.
The alley entrance was too narrow for the carriage to pass through, so the two got out and walked into the alley.
At the end of the alley, the well where Wang Huai'an was found had been cordoned off, and Yi Mingli, the detective, was leading his officers to investigate the well.
Upon seeing Shen Zheng arrive, Yi Mingli immediately came forward to greet her: "This humble official greets Lord Shen."
"Lord Yi," Shen Zheng walked towards the well, observing it as she asked, "Have you discovered anything?"
Yi Mingli shook his head, looking troubled: "My lord, Lord Wang was rescued by the common people. By the time our men arrived, the surrounding area had already been trampled beyond recognition. I led my men to investigate several times, but we found nothing unusual..."
Looking at the bamboo leaves trampled underfoot, Shen Zheng slowly squatted down.
As Yi Mingli said, too many people have been here, and the site has been so badly damaged that it is difficult to find any useful information.
"Have you asked all the residents in the neighborhood?" Shen Zheng asked, looking into the alley. "Has anyone seen Wang Huai'an, or anyone else behaving strangely?"
“I’ve asked them all,” Yi Mingli replied. “They all said… they haven’t seen Lord Wang, nor have they seen any strange people.”
Thinking of this, Yi Mingli began to feel a chill.
He couldn't help but wonder, could Old Wang have really jumped into the well on his own...?
Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng frowned and walked towards the alley entrance without saying a word, with Xu Yunyan following in her footsteps.
The two walked from one end of the alley to the other, and then back again, repeating the process repeatedly, which puzzled the onlookers outside the alley.
"What is Lord Shen doing? Is he lost in a maze of ghosts?"
"Don't talk nonsense in broad daylight! In my opinion, Lord Shen is thinking! Didn't someone say that you have to get your body moving before your brain can start working?"
When the two returned to the well for the fifth time, Shen Zheng looked at Xu Yunyan and asked, "Did you find it?"
Xu Yunyan nodded.
Shen Zheng said, "Let's talk in the car."
Xu Yunyan followed her out of the alley and into the carriage.
Yi Mingli stood there, looking completely bewildered.
After a long while, he asked the constables, "Have you discovered it?"
The constables also looked confused and shook their heads in unison.
Yi Mingli scratched his head, imitating Shen Zheng, walking from one end of the alley to the other, and then back again.
The constable asked him, "Sir, have you discovered anything?"
Yi Mingli was silent for a moment, then stamped his foot and said, "Continue the investigation!"
......
After boarding the carriage, Shen Zheng lifted the curtain and looked at Zhuqing Lane, whispering, "The lane is full of small houses, with dozens of households. Wang Huai'an left the government office after his shift, so it's probably already Chenshi (7-9 AM) when he arrives at Zhuqing Lane."
Xu Yunyan nodded and pondered, "From 5 a.m. to dawn is the time when people go out and about. If Wang Huai'an was forcibly brought here, it will definitely attract the attention of the people."
"And everyone says they didn't see him." Shen Zheng seized on this inconsistency and analyzed it forcefully: "So, just like our previous guess, he came to Zhuqing Lane on his own initiative, and deliberately avoided being seen by going to the well... Excluding the possibility that he came here to commit suicide, then the person who lured him here..."
As she spoke, a possibility surfaced in her mind, and Shen Zheng paused.
Xu Yunyan frowned slightly and continued, "...The person who brought him here may have had some leverage over him and threatened him to come here alone."
"handle......"
Thinking of this, Shen Zheng fell silent.
For an official, what constitutes "handle"?
Forming cliques is a weakness, engaging in self-interest is a weakness, and embezzlement is an even stronger weakness.
so.......
"What secret has Wang Huai'an given that has fallen into someone else's hands?" Shen Zheng couldn't guess, so she could only ask Hua Duo to drive back to the clinic.
All the way there, she kept thinking about whether there were any other possibilities.
But it's clear that Wang Huai'an wouldn't deliberately go to Zhuqing Lane to commit suicide, and the people of Zhuqing Lane... aren't blind either.
After returning to the clinic, Shen Zheng avoided the Wang family and told Yu Zhengqing about her guess.
Yu Zhengqing sat and thought for a long time, then silently got up and took a carriage back to the government office with Yu Shizhang.
Shen Zheng stayed at the clinic.
She wanted to wait for Li Shiyuan to arrive and for Wang Huai'an to wake up so she could personally verify her conjecture.
As Lady Wang's wailing continued, darkness gradually fell.
Yu Nanshu and Cui Jinyin came by once along the way, but were persuaded to leave by Shen Zheng.
At the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), the clinic lit up its lamps, casting shadows of people. The doctors dared not leave, and Madam Wang's voice was hoarse from crying. Wang Huai'an, lying on the doctor's bed, remained pale and motionless.
Madam Wang was getting restless.
She began pacing back and forth in the clinic, glancing towards the entrance every now and then.
Finally, just before her patience ran out, the sound of horses' hooves came from outside the pavilion.
Everyone looked towards the doorway at the same time, where they saw Li Shiyuan with disheveled hair and a hurried expression. He almost tripped over the threshold as he entered.
"Dr. Li!" Shen Zheng greeted him, and said in a low voice, "Thank you for making the trip. How are you feeling?"
Li Shiyuan smoothed his sideburns, sighed, and said, "Not bad, not bad. The young man's riding skills are good; he didn't jostle me too much. Sir, the patient..."
Before he could finish speaking, Madam Wang rushed over, grabbing Li Shiyuan's sleeve and pulling him into the room: "Doctor, please come quickly! Please look at my husband, why isn't he awake yet..."
Li Shiyuan was pulled along by her, taking two steps at a time, and staggered a few times before reaching the doctor's bedside.
The doctors in the clinic also gathered around, their eyes fixed on Li Shiyuan.
Li Shiyuan's gaze swept over Wang Huai'an's face, and his brows immediately furrowed.
Under everyone's watchful eyes, he first took Wang Huai'an's pulse, then bent down and listened to Wang Huai'an's chest for a while. Only when he stood up did he say to Shen Zheng, "Sir, the cold has eroded his heart meridian. We have to take a risky step to have any chance of saving him."