Nie Xiaoman said: "Shi Cheng, before I set off, please tell me the general situation of the case, so that I will not be at a loss when I get to the place where the crime occurred." ”

Shi Cheng raised his head and recalled: "Yes, my lord, but I can't be sure when the robbery happened for a while, it was about midnight and midnight." Last night, my father went to the Changchun Theater of the Lion Bridge in South Park to watch a play, and it was about half of the night when he returned home. From time to time, the servant Wei Lao Mazi went to the bedroom to make the bed, and saw that the aunt was still sitting and embroidering, and there was nothing unusual at all. After that the servants all went to sleep, and I went into the bedroom to rest, leaving an old servant to guard the door. ”

"Did you go back to your bedroom to rest before your father came back?"

"Exactly, my lord, when my father came back from watching the play, he walked into the bedroom, and saw his aunt sleeping on the desk, and he didn't answer his call, and when he looked back, all the boxes in the room had been opened, all the clothes were thrown on the ground, and the opal hairpin jewelry in the box had long been gone. Among them, there was an antique red jade ring made by Su Shen and worth about 400 taels, which was also stolen together, with a total loss of about 700 taels. My father woke my aunt up and asked for details, but she said she didn't know anything about it, only that she was a little tired from embroidery, so she took a nap on the desk, and everything else was completely confused. When he woke up the servants to inquire, he was all stunned, and no one noticed or heard the sound, only to see the words "Fly in the sky" on the wall. Looking into the house, the back door was breached, and all that was left behind was nothing more than that. ”

Nie Xiaoman listened attentively, and when Li Shicheng's report was finished, he said: "Generally speaking, this case is really very strange, so when you go to report to the official, what do the people in the yamen think?" ”

They all said that they did it, but it is likely that there was an internal collusion in the house, so the old housekeeper Ding who guarded the door had been arrested by the police. ”

"Really? Who is Feng Yunqi you just mentioned? ”

"When my father was in the palace in Zhili, he came to my house and followed my father for many years. This man is capable and courageous, and he is also loyal and honest. I had gone to the theatre with my father last night, and if there was a shrewd man like him, he would not have been as stupid as the other servants were to be unaware. ”

"So does this guy have experience with robberies?"

"Yes, there have been two thefts in our house in the past, and he solved them. Once, my father lost an ivory carver's snuff box, which was stolen by the monk who came to the door, and was also found out and caught by Feng Yunqi. That's why my father thinks highly of him. So the robbery that happened last night also asked him to check it out. ”

Nie Xiaoman became interested and asked, "Then what does he think about this case?" ”

Shi Chengdao: "It doesn't seem to be there at the moment, but he is very unhappy about the arrest of Old Butler Ding by the headhunters, but he has no other specific opinions." ”

Nie Xiaoman stood up and said, "Enough, after listening to everything you said, I have a general understanding, and when I see Ling Zun later, I can avoid many verbal details." Xiao Man turned his face to Jing Mo and said, "Why don't you and I go now, and we will have time to go back to the hungry cat for dinner later." ”

Jing Mo naturally agreed, and Shi Cheng happily led the way in front.

In fact, if you want to talk about Li Shichenglai, his father's name is Li Wenchang, and the official once made him the head of the Guizhou Qing Officials Division of the Household Department of the Sixth Grade. Later, because of his family's wealth, he saw through the chaotic situation of the current dynasty and had no intention of becoming an official, so he resigned and lived idle. Wenchang's ancestral home is Huizhou, Yuan Pei is Shi Cheng's biological mother still stays in Huizhou, Wenchang is quiet in nature, admiring Jinling's new pavilion to cry, tiger standing on the dragon pan, so he took his aunt to live in Jinling.

The aunt has no children, so Li Shicheng lives with the aunt and gets along harmoniously, and the relationship with the aunt is not bad. We walked for a short time, and as soon as we entered Gangzi Village, we arrived at the Li family's residence within a few steps. The style of the house is ancient, the wall door is painted black, and it is not very particular, but it is very strict, and the courtyard has three entrances, and as soon as you enter the gate, it is the gatekeeper's gatehouse.

Li Shicheng told Xiaoman and Jingmo that Ding's old housekeeper usually lives in it. At present, the old housekeeper Ding has been arrested, and there is a little boy guarding it. When the boy saw someone coming, he immediately went inside to report, Shi Cheng still led Xiaoman and Jing Mo inside, and when he walked to the front of the hall, he saw that Shi Cheng's father Li Wenchang had come out to greet him.

This Li Wenchang looks to be about forty years old, with a thin face, a slender figure, wearing a wide-sleeved silk robe, fat silk pants, and bast shoes.

But now his face is withered, his eyes are deeply red, and although he is in his robe, he still looks a little trembling, Xiaoman guesses that it is because of last night's insomnia and worry, and his energy is not exhausted. Jing Mo had seen Li Wenchang before, but Nie Xiaoman met for the first time, so Jing Mo greeted him first.

Li Wenchang has always been very polite and polite, and today he was extremely courteous, especially taking a step forward to greet Nie Xiaoman, and greatly praised him, Nie Xiaoman naturally returned the salute humbly. Then the two were ushered into a study, and after the guests of honor were seated, Wenchang recounted the situation.

"The loss of this theft was too great, and he was frightened and anxious. In the morning, the head of the fast shift in the yamen came and said that the thief was a well-known and heinous snitch, and it was not easy to attack it for a while. If Brother Nie Shi has any advice, he can be arrested and brought to justice, and fortunately he can recover Zhuyu, and my brother should bow down and thank him! ”

Nie Xiaoman said indifferently: "The little brother is only a shallow learner, thanks to the old man's false praise, he entrusted the important task, how dare he not serve wholeheartedly?" Regarding the general plot, Ling Lang has already talked to me, and he has some clues, but there are still a few points, please give me advice? ”

Li Wenchang said happily: "Don't dare." Please speak, Lord Nie. ”

"Yesterday, Mr. went out to watch a play at Changchun Theater? Do you remember when you left home? ”

"Yes, it's about a quarter of a minute when I go out, and when I arrive at Changchun Theater, it's just the right time."

"When are you going home?"

"When the play ended, it was already past the hour, Feng Yunqi lit the lantern! We walked home together. When he returned to the door, the old housekeeper Ding was still sitting at the door, and he couldn't see any clues at first. When I entered the bedroom, I saw that the box had been opened and my clothes were all over the floor, and I realized that someone had stolen them. ”

Nie Xiaoman nodded and said, "I already know what will happen in the future, now we might as well go and observe it first." ”

Li Wenchang then led everyone to the main hall inside. The main hall house is in the third entrance, and the one on the right is the bedroom of Li Wenchang and his wife, that is, the one that was stolen.

After everyone entered the main hall inside, everyone sat down again. Wen Chang instructed the servant Wei Lao Mazi to light the lamp so that Xiaoman could check it, and at the same time pointed to the brightly lit room on the right.

"This is my bedroom, and there is a bedroom in the back for the maid Wei's mother." Li Wenchang's hand pointed to the other side of the bedroom and said, "At the end of the corridor that turns, there is a door that leads to the small garden, and the thieves may have entered through this door." ”

Before Nie Xiaoman could answer, he saw the maid Wei Lao Mazi lighting a big butter candle and walked over, and without saying anything, he approached and handed it to Li Wenchang, Li Wenchang then held the candle in front and guided everyone to the bedroom door, Wenchang said: "This is the main entrance, usually from here, but after the theft last night, the trace is very clear, it can be seen that he entered from the main entrance, I am afraid that the traces will be confused and affect the inspection, so I closed the main gate and entered and exited from the west side door." ”