Xie Weilou pointed at the table and said, “First, there are five chairs and five sets of bowls and chopsticks.
Assuming the other three occupied three portions, and Qian Xiang occupied one, then what about the remaining portion?
It couldn’t be that the four of them were in a good mood and deliberately prepared it for Wu Shusheng, could it?”
“…”
Lin Qinghuang nodded slightly, looking at Xie Weilou with a bit more respect.
This guy seemed to have some tricks up his sleeve!
“That’s right! This doesn’t make sense! There’s no way the four of them could have known Wu Shusheng was coming in advance, right?
And all five sets of bowls and chopsticks on the table show signs of having been used, indicating that five people had dined together.”
A Captian immediately reacted, staring intently at Wu Shusheng.
A strange look flickered deep in Wu Shusheng’s eyes.
Xie Weilou continued, “If you look closely at two of the five wine cups, you’ll notice subtle lipstick marks.
If we exclude the possibility that both cups were used by Qian Xiang, then there’s another possibility: another woman was present here.”
That Captian immediately stepped forward to inspect and indeed found lipstick marks on two wine cups.
Xie Weilou then looked at the paper covering the door and said, “If someone was peeking from outside and poked a hole through the paper from the outside, then the edges of the paper should be bent from outside inwards.
But if you look carefully, you’ll find that the edges of this paper are bent from inside outwards, clearly indicating it was poked from the inside.”
The two Captians stepped forward again to inspect, and the results were consistent with what Xie Weilou had said.
Wu Shusheng silently watched Xie Weilou, not saying a word.
Lin Qinghuang asked, “Everything you’ve said is correct, so what do you think should be done next?”
Xie Weilou smiled and said, “Wu Shusheng’s words are half-truths.
Besides Qian Xiang, there was another girl present at the scene.
She couldn’t have just quietly slipped into the room like Qian Xiang, could she?
When young masters come to a brothel for drinks and entertainment, they certainly look for girls to accompany them.
Don’t we just need to ask the madam what girls those three found?”
Lin Qinghuang nodded slightly.
She looked at the dazed old madam next to her and asked, “It’s your turn now!”
The old madam stammered, “It was Cui He.
The girl those three young masters found was Cui He.
She has a good relationship with Qian Xiang, but I had no idea about Qian Xiang’s affairs!”
“She usually doesn’t actively entertain guests, and I didn’t expect her to quietly enter someone else’s room.
The other girls in the house can confirm this.”
“Bring Cui He over.”
Lin Qinghuang said calmly.
Not long after.
A pale-faced woman, looking terrified, entered the room.
When she saw Qian Xiang’s corpse, a look of evasion appeared in her eyes.
Lin Qinghuang stared at the woman in front of her: “Tell me everything you know, exactly as it happened.
Since I’ve brought you here, you should understand that some things cannot be hidden.”
Cui He took a deep breath, suppressing the fear in her heart.
She trembled and said, “It wasn’t me who killed Sister Qian Xiang; it was those three men.”
“Continue.”
Lin Qinghuang said.
A complex look appeared in Cui He’s eyes: “Sister Qian Xiang’s persona of selling art but not her body was fake.
This persona was meant to distance herself from men without power or influence, making them only able to watch.
But when she met young masters with power and influence, Sister Qian Xiang would actively approach them.
Every time I entertained a distinguished guest, she would quietly follow.”
She glanced at Wu Shusheng and shook her head, saying, “This time, it truly wasn’t Wu Shusheng who killed her.
It was those three young masters who killed Sister Qian Xiang.”
Cui He added, “Because of Sister Qian Xiang, I also got to know Wu Shusheng.
I think he’s a good person, and I didn’t want him to continue being deceived by Sister Qian Xiang.”
“This time, his appearance at Wansha House was actually me inviting him in Sister Qian Xiang’s name.
I wanted him to see Sister Qian Xiang’s true colors.
After Sister Qian Xiang died, Wu Shusheng was coerced into taking all the blame, absolving me and those three men.”
A Captian stared at Wu Shusheng: “Why did you deliberately conceal the evidence of Cui He’s presence?”
A brothel girl talking about purity always felt strange!
However, for a talented artist who sells her art but not her body, maintaining a pure image is fine.
But if she uses her persona to deliberately swindle money and constantly exploit others, then she deserves what she gets.
Wu Shusheng said, “She’s better than Qian Xiang! I didn’t want this matter to implicate her.”
“So, the hole in the paper on the door?”
This Captian asked.
Wu Shusheng said, “It was poked by one of the young masters, and as for certain phrases, they also thought them up for me.”
This Captian looked at Lin Qinghuang, bowed, and said, “Commander Lin, I think there’s no problem with this case now; we just need to catch those three men.”
Lin Qinghuang, upon hearing this, shook her head.
She looked at Xie Weilou: “Do you also think this case is closed?”
“Of course not!”
A broad smile appeared on Xie Weilou’s face.
“Then why don’t you tell me.”
Lin Qinghuang said calmly.
“If you want me to work like an ox for you, you have to give me grass!”
Xie Weilou adjusted his sleeve.
Lin Qinghuang frowned.
Xie Weilou chuckled and said, “I’ve said so much, analyzed so much, but there’s one crucial thing that hasn’t been analyzed.”
He looked at Qian Xiang’s corpse: “That is, how exactly did this Qian Xiang die?
The ligature marks on her neck aren’t fatal, and the golden hairpin in her chest isn’t fatal, so what was truly fatal?”
When he asked this question, Wu Shusheng and Cui He’s hearts tightened.
“…”
On Lin Qinghuang’s cold face, a rare, meaningful expression appeared.
Xie Weilou’s question was the true core of the matter!
The two Captians were stunned for a second.
They looked at Xie Weilou, their expressions a bit unnatural.
It was so embarrassing that they had overlooked such a crucial question.
They were actually not as good as a dissolute young master?
Xie Weilou shook his head and said, “Don’t look at me with that kind of gaze.
It’s true that This Young Master is dissolute, but dissolute doesn’t mean useless, and it doesn’t mean I can’t even understand basic problems.”
“Uh…”
The two Captians gave a bitter smile, feeling as if they had been subtly criticized.
If they couldn’t even understand basic problems, did that mean they were the useless ones?
Xie Weilou said, “Qian Xiang’s corpse has a special fragrance.
Have you noticed it?”
Lin Qinghuang looked at Xie Weilou: “Continue.”
Xie Weilou said, “This Young Master has frequented brothels for a long time, so I know a thing or two about certain things!
This fragrance is the scent of Fragrant Beauty powder.”
“Fragrant Beauty has an aphrodisiac effect, originates from the Western Regions, and is extremely rare.
Normally, it’s just an aphrodisiac, but if combined with the scent of the Sleep Dream Snow plant, it can enhance the medicinal effect and become a strange poison that even a silver needle would struggle to detect, causing one’s heart to stop suddenly…”
As he said this, Xie Weilou pointed to a snow-white plant in the room.
This object was precisely Sleep Dream Snow.
He was no stranger to Fragrant Beauty, as he had experienced it once!
When Xie Weilou mentioned Fragrant Beauty and Sleep Dream Snow, Wu Shusheng and Cui He’s bodies trembled.
Xie Weilou looked at Wu Shusheng and said, “Coincidentally, you have the scent of Fragrant Beauty on you, so what about this Sleep Dream Snow?”
His gaze fell on Cui He: “Miss Cui He, what do you think?”
Cui He lowered her head, not saying a word.
“This plant was bought by Cui He from outside.”
A girl outside the door immediately said.
Cui He’s legs went weak, and she nearly collapsed to the ground.
A Captian hesitated for a moment and asked, “We also smelled this scent, and it doesn’t seem to have affected us much.”
Xie Weilou said, “Fragrant Beauty has many uses.
One way to control the dosage is to make it into rouge or scented powder and apply it to the skin.
In this case, it usually isn’t fatal, only aphrodisiac, and its effect lasts at most half an hour.”
“However, applying it to the skin also carries the greatest risk, because once one smells the scent of Sleep Dream Snow, the toxins will penetrate the body through the skin!
We weren’t affected because the effect has already worn off.”
According to Zilan, Qian Xiang was murdered half an hour ago, so the Fragrant Beauty would have already lost its effect by now.
When Xie Weilou said this, everyone present already understood that the true culprits were Wu Shusheng and Cui He.
As for those three young masters, they were merely innocent bystanders, but they weren’t necessarily innocent themselves.
Lin Qinghuang looked at Wu Shusheng and Cui He and said, “I’m giving you a chance to defend yourselves!”