Chapter 14: Criminal Justice Official (2)

The corners of Zhuo Qing's mouth stiffened; this person's questioning was truly impolite! She sheepishly lowered the hand covering her lips, and with a cold voice clearly tinged with listlessness, Zhuo Qing replied, "Criminal Justice Official, I think you have mistaken one thing. I am not your servant, and even less so a prisoner. You have the right to question me, but whether or not I answer you depends on my mood."

Dan Yulan had not expected her to answer like that and was momentarily distracted. The smile at the corners of Lou Xiyan's mouth, however, grew even richer. It seemed that following her heart and acting without restraint was her nature; calculating it this way, he had already been polite to her last night!

"Presumptuous!" Fearing that Dan Yulan would be angered, Wu Zhigang hurriedly scolded, "The Criminal Justice Official is questioning you; how dare you not answer?!"

With her arms crossed over her chest, Zhuo Qing was not angry; instead, she teased with a smile, "I am conversing with the Criminal Justice Official; how dare you interrupt?"

"You—" This, this, this was simply rebellious! Wu Zhigang was so angry that smoke seemed to rise from his nose and mouth; his face flushed red, his chest heaved violently, and his finger pointed at Zhuo Qing, trembling incessantly. He spent a long time saying "you" but could not blurt out the next sentence.

Zhuo Qing was somewhat stunned. Is he alright? She didn't seem to have said anything! Could he be having a cerebral hemorrhage? The resilience of these ancient people was a bit too weak.

Zhuo Qing was genuinely worried he might faint, but fortunately, two Yamen Runners walked in escorting a middle-aged man, breaking the awkwardness in the room.

"My Lord, Li Ming has been brought here."

Regarding Zhuo Qing's rudeness, the Criminal Justice Official Dan suppressed his reaction, while Prime Minister Lou watched with composure. Wu Zhigang, half-dead from anger with nowhere to vent, felt his rage surging and could only roar at Li Ming, "Li Ming, Lin Bokang was murdered last night, and you were the only person who saw Lin Bokang last night. What did you see at that time? Did you kill him?"

Li Ming hurriedly knelt down, head lowered. Although his voice trembled slightly, his train of thought was very clear: "My Lord, I am wronged! I am the Steward of the Lin Family. The Master has been in prison for several months and has suffered quite a bit. I only came to deliver clothes to the Master. The Master was in a very bad mood at the time, so I did not dare to stay long. I only offered a few words of comfort before leaving the clothes and departing. I stayed in the cell for less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. It was raining heavily outside at the time, and the trees outside the prison were blown down; I even helped the Yamen Runner brothers move the trees."

This Li Ming's physique was slightly sturdier than the deceased's, enough to strangle someone unconscious and hang them from the rafters. However, based on the time of death, Li Ming had the greatest suspicion, but there was no concrete evidence. Deducing cases had always been Gu Yun's strength; she only concerned herself with autopsies. Quietly stepping back a few paces, Zhuo Qing retreated outside the cell door, lazily leaning against the stone wall and yawning repeatedly. There shouldn't be anything left for her to do.

"You say you came to deliver clothes; then, did Lin Bokang change into the new clothes and shoes in front of you?"

Slightly raising his head to glance at Dan Yulan, who was dressed in simple attire, Li Ming lowered his head again and replied softly, "No."

His voice was calm, yet carried a suffocating sense of pressure. Dan Yulan continued to ask, "Besides delivering clothes to him, what else did you do for him?"

This time, Li Ming did not ponder for long and replied, "I only handed the clothes to the Master and said a few words before leaving."

Dan Yulan suddenly walked into the cell and headed toward the edge of the bed on the right. On the crude wooden planks lay messy straw. Dan Yulan raised his hand and gently picked up a few strands of straw by the bedside; a blurry footprint appeared prominently: "On the edge of the deceased's bed, there is a footprint covered in mud, but the deceased was wearing a pair of new shoes. Even if they were old shoes, the deceased rarely went out while in prison, so they wouldn't be this dirty. There was a heavy rain last night, and you were the only one who entered the deceased's cell during that time. This footprint was left when you were hanging the body, wasn't it?"

Zhuo Qing squinted slightly to look; the footprint was somewhat unclear, and it was even harder to spot amidst the crisscrossing straw. Dan Yulan had only been standing outside the cell door, right? To have noticed this—what a meticulous and sharp person!

Li Ming's entire body shook, and he spoke incoherently, "No, no..."

Wu Zhigang impatiently shouted, "Take off his shoes and verify it!"

The two Yamen Runners immediately took the order and quickly pulled off Li Ming's shoes. After a comparison, they replied, "My Lord, Li Ming's shoes match this footprint perfectly."

Having received verification, Wu Zhigang's arrogance became even more rampant: "It really was you! Li Ming, you have some nerve!"

Zhuo Qing scoffed. This could at most prove that Li Ming had stepped on this wooden plank at the time; it was merely supporting evidence and could not be used to convict him!

Li Ming was already trembling like a leaf in the wind and immediately prostrated himself on the ground, begging for mercy: "My Lord, I only... I only acted in a moment of clumsiness; I did not intend to harm the Master!"

He confessed? Zhuo Qing always felt something was wrong, but she couldn't say where the problem lay!

A flash of keen light crossed Lou Xiyan's eyes, but it vanished quickly.

"You entered and exited the prison in less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn—killing, changing clothes, and faking a suicide scene—you did it all, yet you dare to say it was a moment of clumsiness! Unless you are still hiding something! Speak!" With a slightly raised voice and determined eyes, Dan Yulan was full of righteousness. It wasn't just Li Ming who was scared into shivering; even Zhuo Qing was shaken.

Li Ming's gaze drifted, filled with extreme terror, but he only kept begging for mercy: "My Lord, spare my life! My Lord, spare my life!"

If Li Ming had truly made such a meticulous plan to kill, it showed he was a calm and cold-blooded person. Why would he be so flustered now? He was the Lin Family's steward and shouldn't have had any deep hatred for Lin Bokang. What was the motive for the murder?

"Li Ming! You ungrateful thing, my husband treated you well while he was alive!" Madam Lin could not suppress the indignation in her heart. She never imagined that the one who killed her husband was the steward who had followed them for many years!

The villagers also wished they could beat this ungrateful wretch to death. The prison was in a state of chaos for a moment. Dan Yulan made a prompt decision and said in a clear voice, "Take this person into custody! Wait until I have examined the case files of Lin Bokang before conducting a trial! Right and wrong will be judged in due time."

"Yes." The Yamen Runners immediately escorted Li Ming into the adjacent cell. Madam Lin and the villagers were also led out of the prison by the Yamen Runners.

Lou Xiyan clapped his hands lightly, his lips still curved upward as he smiled: "All the civil and military officials in the court say that the Criminal Justice Official Dan is clear-sighted in hearing cases and resolute in judging matters. Seeing it today, it truly lives up to his reputation."

"The Prime Minister is too kind." Still maintaining that calm expression, Lou Xiyan was accustomed to it, and the two walked out of the prison door side by side.

Seeing Lou Xiyan walk out, Wu Si immediately went up to meet him and said with immense gratitude, "Prime Minister, thank you for upholding justice for us. Please rest assured, it was our fault for kidnapping the young lady, but we absolutely did not make things difficult for her. The young lady is a good person; she even helped us write the petition, and just now she performed the autopsy for our benefactor. The young lady..."

"Wait!" The face of Lou Xiyan, who always wore a smile, stiffened: "You said the youth who performed the autopsy just now is Qingfeng?"

Qingfeng? That youth was actually a woman? Dan Yulan looked at Lou Xiyan and saw that his face was full of astonishment. This Qingfeng was truly not simple; there weren't many people who could make the Prime Minister show such a look of annoyance.

What Qingfeng? Isn't her name Zhuo Qing? Wu Si looked blank, subconsciously looking up to find Zhuo Qing, but there was no sign of her in the prison. "Eh? Where is she?"

(End of chapter)