"Enzi, go and have the Qian family's guards bring down the bodies of Zhong Shi and Qiangzi!" Gu Xin instructed Gu En.

“I’ll go! I’ll also take Hu Qiangzi’s upper body down and sew it up for him,” Zheng Qiu said.

"Sew it here?" Gu En pointed to the burlap sack next to him and pinched his nose.

"What else?" Zheng Qiu looked at Gu En.

“Why don’t I help you carry it while you go up and sew it? When it’s light, have Master Qian send someone to get a coffin. Now that everything is ready, it’s best to put it in the coffin as soon as possible so it can be laid to rest!” Gu En said.

Two days have passed, and the weather is quite hot now. The corpse has already begun to decompose, so Gu En tries to avoid passing by Zhong's house as much as possible.

The smell was really unpleasant. Only when Zheng Qiu was around did Gu En feel a little better because Zheng Qiu had a peculiar scent.

“That makes sense. He really needs to be laid to rest as soon as possible. Boss Du still has business to do.” Gu Xin actually agreed with Gu En this time.

"Alright, please bring it up!" Zheng Qiu didn't seem to mind.

When she was investigating a case with Lord Qin in Jiangnan, she had even opened a coffin to examine a corpse. The deceased had been buried for half a month and was much worse off than Hu Qiangzi's body now, so she didn't feel much about it.

Gu En quickly picked up the burlap sack and followed Zheng Qiu upstairs.

The inn's waiter and cook had woken up from the commotion outside and went to the kitchen to help prepare food for the people in white.

Only Gu Xin, Lu Zheng, and Butcher Liu remained in the hall.

The two men sat down in front of Butcher Liu, who seemed terrified, curled up on the ground, trembling.

"Liu An," Gu Xin called out.

"I, I, I am here." Butcher Liu's voice trembled.

"Do you know your crime?" Gu Xin asked.

"I, I know I'm guilty," Butcher Liu said without any denial.

This was Gu Xin's first trial, and the defendant had already confessed. For a moment, she didn't know how to proceed.

"Why did you kill Hu Qiangzi?" Gu Xin asked.

"Your Highness, I was afraid Qiangzi would kill me. I was only trying to protect myself. Besides, Qiangzi said he was going to defile my daughter, so I got angry, so... so..." Butcher Liu was in tears.

He actually regretted it a little, but he didn't know what he was thinking at the time. He just felt that if Hu Qiangzi died, he could be with Zhong Shi, and his daughter would be safe. He wouldn't have to worry about anything.

"Did you act alone back then? I heard you were once captured by Hu Qiangzi. Did you have any accomplices?" Gu Xin asked.

"I, I was..." Butcher Liu licked his dry lips, moved his body, and said in a hoarse voice, "I was about to lose control of Qiangzi, so I asked Zhong to help me. Zhong came over, and Qiangzi froze with a shocked and incredulous expression. I took the opportunity to finish him off."

"You mean, you asked the Zhong family for help, and they actually went to help? When Hu Qiangzi saw the Zhong family coming over, he gave up struggling and resisting?" Gu Xin felt a pang of heartache, a particularly bitter and helpless feeling.

"Yes, that's right. Qiangzi probably didn't expect the Zhong family to actually come," Butcher Liu replied.