Lieutenant Pu glanced at Nie Xiaoman, seemed strange that Xiaoman asked this question, shrugged his shoulders and replied: "My lord, I didn't say that he smoked snuff during the murder, but that snuff bottle may have fallen out of Zhao Leren's pocket in a hurry. Another point is that when I went to arrest him, he was wearing a white scarf around his right hand, which was clearly newly wounded. ”

Nie Xiaoman shook his head and said, "You just said that Zhao Leren launched the bird gun from the shadows, so Niu Yizhi was killed because he was caught off guard. There was no confusion in the room, proving that there had never been a fight. So, even if Zhao Leren has scars on his hands, how can he be regarded as evidence of murder? ”

Lieutenant Pu shook his round head again and replied, "Not bad." But as I said, he broke through the window. There is a pickle jar outside the window whose lid is broken, and it is certainly possible to hurt your hand, how can an adult say that he cannot testify? ”

Nie Xiaoman walked silently for a while, and then said, "Then why you arrested him, you only relied on two pieces of evidence such as snuff bottles and bird guns, right?" ”

"There are also witnesses. The night before yesterday, a nearby neighbor had seen Zhao Leren go to the Yanying study alone. This is another good reason for my arrest. ”

Nie Xiaoman's eyes flashed and asked, "Who is this witness?" ”

"It's a village woman in the thatched hut next to the Niu family, and her husband's family seems to be surnamed Feng."

"When did she see it?"

The woman of the village did not tell the time very well, but said that it was already deep in the night, and she was about to go to sleep, when she suddenly heard her black dog bark a few times. The woman opened the window and looked across the street, and saw Zhao Leren passing by the fence and walking towards the Niu family's house. ”

"If it's late at night, will this countrywoman be mistaken?"

"No, that Zhao Leren wears a blue troll, and he usually passes by outside the fence. There was some moonlight the night before, and the woman surnamed Feng said that she could see it very clearly. ”

"So has Zhao Leren admitted this?"

"Nope. When I went to arrest him, he didn't admit that he had been in the inkstone study the night before. ”

"Have you investigated Zhao Leren's family? Did he leave home the night before? ”

That kind of smug smile once appeared on the fat face of the county lieutenant Pu for a while, and he smiled: "Lord Nie, your brain is really fine!" I've certainly looked into that. According to the concierge of the Zhao family, Zhao Leren had indeed gone out the night before, and when he came back, it was late at night, with something in his hand, and his attitude was very flustered. Although the porter did not know what he was mentioning, it was undoubtedly a bird's gun. Sir, don't you think that's also a piece of evidence? ”

Nie Xiaoman bit his lower lip and was silent, his eyes did not appreciate the harvest field, but he looked at the gravel path, his teeth were still biting his lip. Jing Mo listened to it next to him, and the more he felt that Zhao Leren was indeed suspicious.

After all, what the county lieutenant said is also the head, and he can't find any flaws. In this way, isn't this old raccoon slave Cen Mingkai finally disappointed?

The fat county lieutenant continued: "Lord Nie, if you still think that the evidence is insufficient, I can also contribute an important supplement. ”

Nie Xiaoman suddenly stopped, raised his head, and asked, "What to add?"

"There is a fierce dark Taihang dog named Cang'er in the Niu family. There was such an incident the night before, and the Taihang dog never barked. Because although the Niu family's house is isolated, there are farmhouses dozens of zhang away from the east, west and north. Almost every family in the farmhouse here had a dog, but they had never barked the night before. This is enough to prove that the murderer is an acquaintance who frequents frequently, and is by no means a stranger. Sir, don't you say? ”

Nie Xiaoman suddenly said in surprise: "Ha, yes, this is indeed a kind of- alas, I'm sorry, Brother Pu, is there often donkey carts and the like on this trail?" ”

Lieutenant Pu was not wary of such a question suddenly, he lowered his head and looked at the stone path that Nie Xiaoman was pointing to, and was stunned and did not answer. Jing Mo also felt that Nie Xiaoman's words were a little abrupt.

Pu Jiaoren took a long breath before answering. "Oh, there is a road that transports firewood through the center of the town, and people often go to the mountains to fetch firewood from here, and carry it to the town to sell. The road is uneven, and it is not very convenient to catch a car. Master Nie, why did you ask about the donkey cart? ”

Nie Xiaoman replied, "There is no other meaning. From the root of the willow tree here, I saw a relatively narrow chariot print, and such a narrow distance would not be a horse-drawn carriage, let alone an ox-cart, so I just asked. ”

So, the three of them moved on.

Jing Mo looked forward, and saw some gray tiles faintly appearing in the willow bushes of autumn trees and twilight clouds, which was expected to be the inkstone study where the murderer occurred. But Nie Xiaoman's gaze still swept over both sides of the stone path, not paying attention to the vista.

Nie Xiaoman asked again while looking at it: "Brother Pu, do you assume that Zhao Leren's motive for the murder is that he has an ambiguous relationship with the deceased's wife?" ”

"Well, exactly. I also have ample evidence of this. ”

Nie Xiaoman was taken aback when he heard this, and said, "What? ”

Pu Jiaoren was so proud that he said, "First, he usually goes to Niu's house; Neighbors in the vicinity of this place can testify. Second, he and the deceased's wife often walked in the fields, and they were accustomed to talking side by side. Thirdly, I found a portrait of Mrs. Niu in his room. Sir, don't you think that if the evidence is so strong, should I not arrest him? ”

Seeing that Xiaoman didn't answer his words, Pu Jiaoren continued: "But the unreasonable one-alas, I'm sorry, that Cen Mingkai kept saying that I was slandering out of thin air. I am a soft-spoken person, how can I be able to defeat him who has served the emperor? How can I afford this case if I don't have a strong person to prove it to me? Lord Nie, although you were invited by Cen Mingkai, I know that you are an iron-faced and selfless person, and you will never just look at the relationship and reverse black and white. Therefore, as soon as I heard of your coming, I came to beg you—"

At this moment, Nie Xiaoman suddenly stopped again, his eyes were on the ground, and a surprised sound came out of his mouth.

"Alas! Blood! - There's blood here! ”

By this time the three of them had reached the edge of the gray-tiled house. The gravel path that the three of them passed through had also reached the end. Connected to the gravel path, there was a wide dirt road that led to the little villa. There were a few bits of blood left on the gravel where the connection was, and it seemed that the head was still fresh. When the three of them marched together, neither Jingmo nor Pu County Lieutenant paid attention.

But Nie Xiaoman's vision was clear, and he actually found this bloodstain. The county lieutenant also lowered his body, looked at the bloodstains, and then raised his head and replied with a frown.

"Alas! I didn't pay attention to that. But it's a trail that is hard to pass in and out, so I haven't had time to see it. ”