Chapter 61: Accomplice

Everyone's eyes were on him, but no one could speak.

Sweeping the various expressions of the people in the room, Ling Tianshui paused on Meng Lanxi and looked at Qian Deng: "What's wrong?"

Qian Deng looked at him and said slowly, "Ling Dianjun has arrived at the perfect time. I'm exposing several murders committed by Meng Langjun and his accomplices. Come and listen."

Ling Tianshui's face was half hidden in the dim backlight, but his eyes were deeper than the darkness of the room. "Really? The case has already been concluded. Why is the county lady trying to overturn it for no reason?"

"Cousin?" Ji Linyou was surprised that he didn't defend his cousin.

"I'm not overturning the verdict for no reason," Qian Deng said to Ling Tianshui, then turned his gaze to Ji Linyou and said calmly, "He probably isn't your cousin Ling Tianshui either."

As soon as these words were spoken, Cui Fufeng knew that his words to Qian Deng had been in vain.

Things had developed in a direction he least wanted to see, but now that things had come to this, no one could do anything about it. He could only sigh inwardly and quietly move closer to Qiandeng, hoping to protect her as much as possible.

The other gentlemen in the room were simply stunned, but Ji Linyou stared in disbelief, "But, my cousin... he was brought here by several important figures in the Shuofang Army. Their identities and documents match, so how could they be wrong?"

"He is indeed a member of the Shuofang Army, but why he used your cousin's identity, I can only ask him."

At this point, Ling Tianshui had no intention of hiding anything further and spoke frankly, "My cousin, Ling Tianshui, who recorded the incident, was once my comrade. He died for his country while suppressing the rebels in Chang'an. I was by his side when he died, and I heard him mention that he had family in Chang'an. I regretted not having met you all."

Ji Linyou exclaimed, "Ah!" and asked in surprise, "My cousin has already died? Then why did you pretend to be him and come to recognize us?"

"Because he needs an identity as a candidate for my husband." Qian Deng revealed the truth in one sentence. "Don't forget, when he entered the mansion, Meng Lanxi was imprisoned."

Ji Linyou still couldn't figure it out, but Xue Xiyang had slandered Qian Deng about Ling Tianshui's selection. After a brief reflection on the Guangling case, he suddenly understood: "To save Meng Lanxi, he borrowed Ling Tianshui's identity and used the Ji family's connections to gain entry into the palace! Great! I didn't expect you to have such ulterior motives from the beginning, impersonating someone else. How could you possibly be considered a candidate for the County Lord's husband?"

Ji Linyou recalled it with a sudden realization and a bit of disbelief: "I was wondering, how could the poor little cousin in my memory...how could..."

Cui Fufeng looked at Qiandeng with some worry and wanted to speak, but seeing her firm and stubborn expression, he finally choked on any words that might have stopped him.

Mingjiu, the clueless one, didn't seem to notice the oppressive atmosphere in the room and burst out laughing: "I can't believe it! I can't believe it! You are so powerful in the northwest, but in Chang'an, you are pretending to be a poor little caterpillar..."

Before he finished speaking, Ling Tianshui gave him a cold look. He shrank his head and dared not speak anymore.

Ling Tianshui said slowly, "I've said before that Madam Meng was indebted to me. Before she died, she asked me to take care of Meng Lanxi, so I took the opportunity to impersonate Ling Tianshui and stayed in the palace to prevent Meng Lanxi from falling into danger again."

"But...even if you're not my cousin, you shouldn't be like this!" Ji Linyou was depressed and angry. "I've always admired you, bragging about you to the soldiers in the camp every day! I have no objection to you repaying Madam Meng's kindness, but how can you repay her by blaming me for murder?"

Cui Fufeng, who had been silent the entire time, finally spoke up and said, "Ling Tianshui, the county lord has already identified Meng Lanxi's guilt. He is indeed the murderer of Jin Tang. The evidence is irrefutable."

Ling Tianshui looked at Meng Lanxi who was standing beside him. He saw that his face was pale, but he could not open his mouth to argue. He knew that Qiandeng must have revealed the whole process of the crime.

He remained calm in the face of adversity and, knowing Qiandeng's abilities, he remained composed in the current situation. He simply asked, "Because Meng Lanxi is not dead, does the county lady believe he is the murderer?"

"One of the murderers." Seeing his expression, Qian Deng felt disappointed and sad, and her voice became even colder. "After all, he couldn't have done such a meticulous and perfect job alone. He needed a powerful accomplice to arrange and clean up the mess for him."

Ling Tianshui and she had always been on the same page. He knew exactly who she was referring to, but after seeing her identify so many people, he felt a strange sense of excitement and anticipation when it came to him. "I'd like to hear more about it."

"Okay." Qiandeng agreed without hesitation.

This man who has always worked side by side with her has used careful analysis and meticulous observation, and taught by words and deeds to accompany and encourage her to grow day by day.

And now, they stand at opposite ends, and it is time for them to confront each other.

The feelings that have been invested can no longer be taken back; the affection that was born from the embrace in the dark night was so gentle and deep that it made her so tough and resolute at this moment.

The moonlight was angry because it covered the ditch; the heart was heartbroken because the pearl was cast in the dark; because she had given him the deepest love in her life, so the hatred turned around and she must expose and condemn him at this moment.

"Ling Tianshui—regardless of your true identity, I'll still call you that. You just asked me why I identified him as the murderer because Meng Lanxi didn't die. Well, I'll tell you, it's because you were the only one who helped him pull off this elaborate act of Meng Lanxi's escape. In other words, when you saw the group of soldiers in the ruined temple, you had already planned to kill them all, leaving no one alive—even after you discovered we were here, you didn't abandon this plan."

"No way..." Mingjiu, who was also involved in the incident at the ruined temple that day, asked in confusion, "The murderer killed someone outside the window and even got angry (set a fire)! But Lin... Ling Tianshui was with us in the temple the whole time?"

"You've forgotten that we only felt comfortable entering the temple to negotiate with the rebels after we saw Ling Tianshui near it. So, is it possible that the fire was already secretly burning behind the temple with a fuse when we entered, so that he could burn it immediately after killing people? In other words, whether we went or not, he had already decided to kill everyone in the temple that day and burn the bodies to destroy all evidence."

This cruel judgment, uttered from Qian Deng's mouth, left everyone speechless.

"Because the deceased had already entered the temple and remained by our side when the fire started, we were misled into believing that it was someone outside the temple who had killed them and stopped them from telling their story. Furthermore, Ling Tianshui was the first to get up and check on the deceased, and he found the murder weapon on the wall opposite the window, further confirming that the murderer had killed the person from that angle outside the window."

Having said that, Qian Deng turned his slightly cold gaze towards Ling Tianshui: "But when I think carefully about all the details at that time, I find that you actually revealed some suspicious points, but we just didn't notice it."

Ling Tianshui raised his eyebrows slightly, waiting for her next words.

"First, we tied Feng Yi up in the middle of the ruined temple, where he was confessing his crimes. If the murderer was outside the window, Feng Yi would have been the most convenient target. So, if we wanted to interrupt his story and hide the truth, why didn't we target him instead of Goatee, who was tied to a pillar?"

Cui Fufeng sighed: "Unless the murderer is too close to Feng Yi, he will be clearly discovered as soon as he makes a move."

Qian Deng nodded slightly. "Besides, you ripped off his goatee, and he was so painful that his head tilted and he was tied to the pillar. If the murderer had shot the knife through the window, it would have severed his carotid artery. But now I think back to when he died, it was a roar of frustration..."

Anyone who had fought on the battlefield and killed someone was very familiar with this. Screeching Eagle, who was present at the scene, recalled the scene and gestured at his throat with sudden realization: "Throat!"

Ji Linyou blurted out in agreement: "It was the throat that was cut!"