Chapter 1693: It Doesn't Matter If He Dies—What Matters Is the Truth

The governor's family massacre case had been unsolved for a month, and the Six Ministries Bureau had made no progress.

They combed through every official duty Zhou Zhifu had handled, every case he had adjudicated, every connection in his bureaucratic network, every rival—yet found no true killer.

Every time they uncovered a clue and poured all their effort into it, they ended up clearing the suspect and proving their innocence.

One by one, they eliminated suspects—until finally, not a single person remained with both motive and no alibi.

Sun Sun Daoning flew into a rage, deeply dissatisfied with the Six Ministries Bureau's handling of this case.

This case was snatched up to showcase the Ministry of Justice's capability, to let the ministry shine.

Must we end up slinking away, mocked and ridiculed by others?

Just then, new case details arrived: Zhou Zhifu's ancestral home, his parents, brothers, nephews, and nieces, had been murdered half a month ago—his entire family exterminated.

The Zhou family was wiped out.

Not a single living Zhou remained.

Even the married daughters were not spared.

What a ruthless killer!

That means the killer murdered Zhou Zhifu's family, his in-laws, and his deputy officials at the office, then rode through the night to Zhou Zhifu's hometown and exterminated the entire Zhou clan.

What great hatred, what deep grudge, could drive someone to this?

Sun Sun Daoning frowned, repeatedly flipping through the Juan Sect records and forensic reports, having confirmed the killer was a single person. Who he was, his age, why he killed—none were known. The only confirmed fact was that the killer was male, identified by a partial footprint.

Such a large foot—surely not a woman's.

The footprint's impression showed even pressure distribution, no sign of a small foot in a large shoe.

Chen Chen Guanlou, labeled a "major threat," occasionally served as a trusted advisor, dragging Sun Sun Daoning out for drinks to clear his mind. It's just one case—why worry so much you won't even eat?

Lady Niu was worried sick.

She specifically asked Chen Chen Guanlou to intervene, to counsel Old Sun, to keep him from digging himself into a hole.

In decades of criminal justice, unsolved cases pile up like mountains. There's no need to lose your appetite over one case.

They found a quiet place, paid for dancers and musicians.

As music began, the dancers swayed gracefully, pleasing to the eye.

Sun Sun Daoning had no interest in admiring them—he saw the beauties as if they were nothing, like a machine without emotion.

Chen Chen Guanlou tipped the dancers, waved his hand, and signaled them all to leave.

"Old Sun, are you serious? You've wasted all my effort."

"You don't understand! This case has a major problem."

"What problem?"

"My instinct tells me this is a revenge killing. But where did the grudge come from? I reviewed Zhou Zhifu's official duties over the past decade, focused on his cases, and found several suspects. Yet when I dug deeper, each one was cleared—proven innocent."

"Are you certain it's revenge?"

"From the number of victims and the killing methods, it's clearly revenge. Veteran criminal investigators all reach the same conclusion. The Six Ministries Bureau's report also confirms this."

"Have you considered extending the timeline? Investigate Zhou Zhifu's official duties over the past twenty years?" Chen Chen Guanlou offered casually.

Since it's clearly revenge, the grudge likely formed after Zhou Zhifu became an official.

To uncover the truth, you must push the timeline further back—dig up every duty Zhou Zhifu ever held, every case he ever judged, and examine them all to the last detail.

But that would mean enormous workload, multiplied manpower and resources—and you might still find nothing.

Sun Sun Daoning rubbed his temples, sounding irritated: "Zhou Zongyan served in several locations over twenty years. These places are thousands of miles apart—the workload is immense."

"I reviewed his record: he ranked two hundred-something in the imperial exams, used connections to get posted as magistrate of a remote, low-tier county. When a iron mine was discovered there, he got top credit and was transferred to a mid-tier county a thousand miles away. After three years, he was moved to a relatively wealthy mid-tier county. Three years later, promoted to a prosperous upper-tier county. Once his term ended, he used connections again to become a prefect. Twenty years to reach prefect—given his background and talent, his promotion was neither fast nor slow, perfectly normal."

Twenty years to become prefect? That's called normal promotion?

In the Great Qian Dynasty, without noble birth or powerful patrons, promotion is as hard as climbing to heaven.

Look at Tan Zhang, a student of Xie Changling—he's posted as prefect the moment he's sent out.

With connections or without—there's a clear difference.

"Old Sun, are you saying his record and background are clean? His promotions followed proper procedure—even the connections were routine?"

Sun Sun Daoning nodded. "If we investigate his past twenty years, can you imagine the workload? Even after six months or a year, we might find no useful leads."

"Are you planning to give up?" Chen Chen Guanlou asked casually.

Sun Sun Daoning fell silent for a long while. "We'll keep investigating, but not like this—not with all our resources. We'll assign just a few men to keep watching the case."

"Is there pressure from the palace or court?" Chen Chen Guanlou cared more about this. If the Ministry of Justice thrives, the Heavenly Prison may not suffer—but if the Ministry is crushed, the Heavenly Prison will suffer worse.

One prospers, not necessarily all; one falls, all fall!

This damned world.

"Don't worry. The Emperor knows how difficult this case is. He hasn't pressured the Ministry of Justice. Besides, Zhou Zongyan's hands weren't clean—he embezzled a lot of silver. The Emperor was furious, even said outright: 'Good riddance!'"

Oh!

Chen Chen Guanlou understood.

Emperor Yuan Ding didn't care whether Zhou Zongyan lived or died. His obsession with catching the killer came from the need to intimidate villains and warn the people: obey the law, or die. Killing an official equals rebellion—punishable by extermination of nine clans.

Now that the killer remains free, the Six Ministries Bureau's loud investigation has already achieved the goal of intimidation. And since Zhou Zongyan was a corrupt official, they might as well let the case die.

No pressure from above—but Sun Sun Daoning, as a criminal justice officer, couldn't bear to give up. He had grasped the thread, yet couldn't find its other end. That feeling—itching, burning, unbearable, like he wanted to die.

Whether the killer is caught doesn't matter—what matters is the truth!

Why exterminate the whole family?

What grudge?

When did it happen? What was the cause?

What was the killer's identity? Why wait until now to seek revenge?

"Old Sun, since the Emperor hasn't pressured you, lighten up. Don't lose your appetite over this case. If Zhou Zongyan knew how hard you're working to solve his case, he'd be grateful."

"Hah! As if I care about his gratitude!" Sun Sun Daoning's expression was dismissive. "If he got himself killed, he had it coming. Whether he lives or dies is irrelevant. I only want to get to the truth."

"Have you thought about going to Zhou Zongyan's old home to look into things?"

"I sent people there long ago. We'll have word back in a while—hopefully with some leads."