Chapter 70
For those who are afraid of death, what is more terrifying than physical pain is, of course, death.
"Boss, does Zhu Dayong know who the murderer is? Or has he done something wrong himself?"
"It is very likely that he and Coroner Cao were involved in this matter together," Li Ming reminded.
"That makes the connection." Tie Er clapped his hands. "Cao Mancang needed money to marry, and Coroner Cao used this to blackmail Zhu Dayong. This also explains Zhu Dayong's abnormal behavior. He was afraid that the murderer would target him next, so he didn't dare go to the brothel. The county jail is definitely safer than his home."
Seeing that Tie Er had figured it out, Li Ming sternly said, "Trial."
"Yes, sir."
When Zhu Dayong was imprisoned, Li Ming did not stop investigating.
Passing by the Qiao Family Bookstore, Li Ming heard Tie Yi's voice: "Boss, is that Young Master Qiao? Wait, isn't that the jailer? This is outrageous. Is he blackmailing me?"
Seeing the jailer taking the silver ingot from the old housekeeper, Tie Yi rolled up his sleeves. The one who moved faster than Tie Yi was Li Ming.
Li Ming quickly stepped forward, grabbed the jailer's wrist, and asked in a cold voice, "What are you doing?"
The jailer shuddered and looked up into Li Ming's sharp eyes: "Sir, it's not what you think..."
The jailer wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and quickly slipped away with the silver ingot in his pocket.
The Qiao family has several shops in the city, which are kept in good order by the old housekeeper. With the business from the shops, the young master Qiao can live a life without worries about food and clothing.
In addition, the county magistrate was an old acquaintance of Mr. Qiao. He felt sorry for Qiao Shengyao because he was helpless, so he took good care of him. Therefore, no one in Fengshui County dared to take over the Qiao family shop.
At this moment, Li Ming was holding a notice in his hand, which was posted in several of Qiao's shops. The gist of it was that if anyone could provide useful information to the government, they could receive a reward at Qiao's shop after returning.
Merit is illusory, especially since even if the case is solved, the reward money probably won't reach these low-level clerks. If it weren't for the reward money from the Qiao family shop, the jailer wouldn't have provided the information so quickly.
After staring at Qiao Shengyao in silence for a long while, Li Ming said helplessly, "Are you not afraid anymore?"
"I'm still scared. I want to help you."
"You little idiot, do you know that if you do this, you might be targeted?"
Qiao Shengyao thought about it and replied with a silly smile: "I, I am a good person, I am not afraid!"
Li Ming: “…” This little idiot reacted quickly at the critical moment.
At this moment, Li Ming hoped that his guess was correct, and that the executioner killed people who had committed crimes. In this way, even if he noticed Qiao Shengyao, according to his code of conduct, he would not attack him.
Of course, in addition to giving orders to strengthen patrols near the Qiao Mansion, Li Ming clenched his fist and became more determined to solve the case as quickly as possible.
In any case, killing without regard to the law is not allowed.
"Threads, clues, any help?"
Facing Qiao Shengyao's expectant eyes, Li Ming curled his lips and said, "Yes, Xiao Qiao helped a lot this time. With the information provided by the jailer and the clues we have, we have already locked on the possible target of the murderer."
Tieyi also echoed: "Yes, thanks to Master Qiao, when Zhu Dayong speaks, there should be a new breakthrough."
"Very good."
However, before Zhu Dayong could say anything, another scream was heard and another person died.
The crime scene was the victim's home. The bailiff who discovered the crime scene explained tremblingly:
"Master Deng hadn't been on duty for two days without any explanation. I was ordered to come to his house to look for him. I knocked on the door but no one answered, so I went inside to see...Master Deng kneeling in front of the door."
As soon as Li Ming received the message, he took people to Deng Zhubu's house. When they arrived, it was noon. Before entering the courtyard, Li Ming's eyes were stimulated by a dazzling light and closed involuntarily.
“Oh my god!”
Tie Yi behind him gasped, and Li Ming even saw several yamen runners swallowing continuously.
Deng Zhubu exuded a foul stench, and his body was covered with mosquitoes and flies. His abdomen was ripped open, and a full bag of silver ingots was stuffed inside. His mouth was also stuffed with a silver note that had long been soaked in his own blood.
The dazzling light before was the light reflected from the sun shining on the silver ingot.
At this moment, the white silver ingot was covered with blood and filth, as if telling of some sin.
Deng Zhubu had few children, only one daughter, and he did not have a good relationship with his daughter. After his daughter got married and his wife died, Deng Zhubu was the only one left in his family. Therefore, after he was killed, he was not discovered until the yamen runners came to his door.
When Li Ming was investigating Deng Zhubu's home, he also discovered more suspicious points.
Deng Zhubu's house was in a mess, as if it had been overturned in a hurry. The packed bundle found in the woodshed seemed to prove this.
As for the bag that Deng Zhubu was going to take with him on his long journey, why was it in the woodshed?
Li Ming squatted in front of a wall, raised his hand, and removed the loose bricks, revealing a space of medium size inside the wall.
"Sir, what is this?"
Li Ming reached in and rubbed it, then took out a silver ingot from the dead corner where it was stuck.
"The silver ingot in the deceased's abdomen had been hidden here before. Before leaving, the deceased wanted to take the silver ingot out and take it with him. Little did he know that the murderer was lurking in the dark, observing him..."
Li Ming stood up, walked to the window, bent down slightly, and through a small hole in the window, his eyes met the gaze of a yamen runner outside. Suddenly, the yamen runner was startled: "Ah!"
Li Ming didn't stand up. He stared outside through the narrow hole, his mind racing: "How cruel! His eyes saw something he shouldn't have, or perhaps...he turned a blind eye. This time, he filled his belly with silver ingots. What's the meaning of that?"
Tie Yi didn't hear Li Ming's mumbling clearly, but he did raise a question: "Your Excellency is saying that these silver ingots belong to Chief Clerk Deng? But even if he saves all his salary without eating or drinking, he still wouldn't have so much."
yes.
Took ill-gotten gains.
Swallowed something you shouldn't have.
"Greed is never enough, a snake swallowing an elephant."
The seemingly unrelated chief clerk was dragged into the game again, and the thread became even more complicated.
However, it was precisely because of the involvement of the chief clerk that Li Ming re-examined the situation: from the coroner to the jailer and then to the chief clerk, was it a provocation or was there a deeper connection between the three?
One or two coincidences can be considered accidental, but if there are more, it seems more like inevitability.
The first two deaths may have also left some clues of their negligence.
The entire Fengshui County was in a state of panic due to the series of murders.
At the same time, Deng Zhubu provided Li Ming with more clues through his own death.
Unlike the previous few people who were completely unprepared, judging from the fact that Deng Zhubu packed his luggage and prepared to take money with him, it seemed that he had foreseen that the murderer might come, so he hurriedly wanted to run away for refuge.
Deng Zhubu was not completely defenseless either.
A picture emerged in Li Ming's mind.
Deng Zhubu was sweating profusely as he removed the bricks from the wall and carefully took out the silver bills and silver ingots. Suddenly, he turned around as if he had sensed something and met a cold eye through the window paper.
Since he was discovered, the figure in black simply broke into the house.
The moon was heavy with shadows. In the cool moonlight, Deng Zhubu saw the face beneath the other person's black robe. His pupils constricted, but he soon realized: "It turned out to be you, so it should be you. This is not a ghost, but a murderer. Since we are both human, I am not afraid of you."
The cloaked man slowly approached Deng Zhubu, beads of sweat sliding down Deng Zhubu's forehead, and the hand behind his back slowly tightened the sharp blade.
One person wants to kill someone, the other person wants to kill someone back.
They fought in the woodshed, which was why the woodshed was so chaotic and full of traces of fighting.
Even after discovering the other party, Deng Zhubu still failed to save his life.
However, he was luckier than the previous ones. He was killed by someone who hit his skull with a blunt object from the front.
He was not tortured by being disemboweled while still alive.
Anxious.
Not only was Deng Zhubu, who was anxious to escape, but also the murderer in the dark.
This also means that the opponent will reveal more flaws.
After the autopsy, Han Jianchun removed the veil from his face and said, "The deceased died from blunt force trauma to the head. The situation must have been urgent, forcing the murderer to resort to heavy force and kill him directly."
"Based on the location and force of the wound, the murderer has also exposed himself. He is likely a left-handed person."
…
Inside the county government office, the county magistrate had a grim expression on his face and was pacing anxiously in the lobby.
Hearing the footsteps, the county magistrate turned around and saw Li Ming, as if he had seen reinforcements, and spoke hurriedly:
"Master Li, how could another murder happen?"
"Originally, my Fengshui County's claim that people leave their doors unlocked at night and don't pick up things on the road was a bit exaggerated, but it is also a place where the people are simple and honest, otherwise there wouldn't be young talents like Lord Li."
"However, over the past six months, I don't know which immortal or master I've offended, but a series of brutal murders have occurred, leaving the people in a state of panic."
"I resisted the pressure and sought help from my superiors. In the end, I finally caught a criminal, but it was a fake. Not only did it not stop the thief, but it also provoked him to rebel. Not to mention the coroner, this time, even the chief clerk of the government office was killed. This, this, this..."
The county magistrate slammed his palm with the back of his hand. His face, which already looked somewhat miserable, now looked even more like he had eaten coptis.
Tie Yi, who was standing behind Li Ming, was a little unhappy when he heard the magistrate's words: "Magistrate Zhen, what do you mean by that? Are you blaming us for not catching the murderer?"
"Don't talk nonsense." County Magistrate Zhen quickly looked at Li Ming and said, "Captain Li, you should know that this is not what I meant. I was just angry and lost my mind. Blame me for my careless words. I hope Captain Li will forgive my previous words."
"The county magistrate was not wrong. It is my fault that I failed to apprehend the murderer immediately, allowing him to continue to harm others without justice."
County Magistrate Zhen quickly stepped forward and helped Li Ming up. "Ah Ming, don't say that. You know Uncle Zhen didn't mean that. Well, I heard you have a lot of new clues this time. If you have any, just tell me. Uncle will fully cooperate. Together, we, uncle and nephew, will strive to solve the case as soon as possible. That will be a great reward for your father."
When Li Ming heard County Magistrate Zhen mention his father, he suddenly looked up at County Magistrate Zhen.
County Magistrate Zhen smiled bitterly and whispered in a low voice so only the two of them could hear:
"County Magistrate Li was an honest and honest official who loved his people. As his deputy back then, no one knew him better than me. I still don't understand what happened back then. What happened? Why did the higher-ups suddenly throw your father in jail and investigate him for corruption?"
"I'm a nobody, and when I finally managed to use my connections to bring your mother to visit her in prison, I heard the news that your father had committed suicide in prison."
Li Ming's lips moved: "You..."
"I was useless. I couldn't help at all. I became the county magistrate without knowing why. I thought that at least I should make Fengshui County better."
"I know you came back this time because you have some questions about what happened back then. By the way, your father was... Zhu Dayong, considering his age, he was also on the force back then. During the investigation, I might as well interrogate him for details about what happened back then."
County Magistrate Zhen patted Li Ming's arm and helped him up.
After leaving the county magistrate's mansion, Li Ming looked back.
Li Ming's father, Li Zhichuan, was once the magistrate of Fengshui County. In Li Ming's memory, his father taught him since he was a child to be a good person and to be responsible to the people. Every day, the candlelight in his father's study would not be extinguished until very late.
However, as County Magistrate Zhen just said, when Li Ming was a teenager, someone suddenly broke into his home and took his father away.
Afterwards, my mother had no one to turn to for help, and my father committed suicide out of fear of punishment, leaving behind a stigma.
His mother fell ill soon after and died of depression. It was Mr. Qiao who helped preside over the funeral and also helped him with the contacts and arrangements. After that, he was taken in by his uncle. Fortunately, he met a famous teacher. The teacher not only taught him how to be a good person, but also took him into the Six Gates and made him a famous constable who punished evil and eliminated evil.
As he grew older, Li Ming felt more and more that there might be something fishy about his father's case. In particular, when he later asked his master to help him retrieve the case files of his father, he found that there was no such case.
This time when he returned to Fengshui County, he was indeed interested in investigating his father's old case.
County Magistrate Zhen was the county magistrate who assisted my father.
"head?"
"Let's go."
"Continue to interrogate Zhu Dayong and inform him of Deng Zhubu's death. Also, send someone to investigate the identities of the first two victims."
Tie Yi could understand the interrogation of Zhu Dayong. As for the first two victims, they were just ordinary wealthy men and women. Their interpersonal relationships had already been investigated clearly and there was nothing to pursue.
Li Ming pressed his eyebrows together and said without further explanation, "The household registration can be falsified. Find out when the two families started their businesses, the source of their starting capital, and their past. Find out if they have ever been to Fengshui County and what they have done here. Find out everything in detail, even if it's from ten or twenty years ago. Don't miss any details."
Although Tieyi didn't understand, seeing Li Ming's serious expression, he also straightened his face and said, "I'll do it right away."
Li Ming went alone to review the files of that year.
Not to mention the first two victims, Cao the coroner, Deng the chief clerk and Zhu Dayong, they were all from the county government.
Li Ming had a vague idea that the serial murder case might be related to a case in the past, and the unfair verdict had led to the current hatred.
After having a direction, Tieyi conducted more detailed visits and investigations, and he actually found some things.
Standing in front of Li Ming, Tie Yi presented the collected information to Li Ming. His face looked a little strange:
"Boss, following your instructions, I led my men to conduct a re-investigation. Guess what? This Wan Quezi wasn't wealthy. During a drought years ago, he even sold his son to a wealthy family in exchange for food."
"But then, one day, the sold son of Wan Quezi returned to Wanjia Village. The villagers inquired and learned that the Wan family's son had saved the life of the master's son. The master remembered his kindness, released his indenture, gave him some money, and set him free."
"With this money, Wan San bought good farmland in the village, married two beautiful wives, and adopted his eldest brother's son to raise as his own. Now, more than ten years later, he has many children and grandchildren, and has become a wealthy man envied by everyone in the surrounding area."
"A wealthy family?" Li Ming grasped the key words: "Which family?"
Tieyi nodded and shook his head. "Wan San never told anyone about this. He only said that the master of the main family was kind-hearted. The young master's murder back then seemed shameful. He absolutely could not tell anyone about it to discredit the main family."
"But I've been following you for so long, watching you solve so many cases, I've developed some premonitions of a master detective. I immediately felt something was amiss. After some investigation, I found out that the year Wan San returned home, the county hadn't heard of any young masters having accidents. However, that same year, a major incident did occur in Fengshui County."
Li Ming's eyes flickered slightly, and he heard his subordinate utter four words in a low voice: "The Qiao family is on fire."
Li Ming retracted his fingers and suddenly looked up, meeting his subordinate's gaze. The subordinate paused and continued:
"Please don't blame me, sir. I investigated the Qiao family without permission."
Li Ming used a declarative sentence, as if he had expected it: "I found something."
Tie Yi lowered his head: "I found out."
Li Ming exhaled slowly: "Speak."
Tie Yi: "In the list of servants of the Qiao family, I indeed found a cook named Wan, whose age matches Wan San's."
"Following this connection, I continued to look through the roster and discovered another woman, Young Master Qiao's wet nurse, with a child. Although her name had been changed, both the wet nurse and the child matched the owner of the East City Dim Sum Shop and his murdered mother."
"Qiao family..." The subordinate thought of the relationship between his master and the Qiao family, was silent for a moment, and said tactfully: "The fire at the Qiao family that year seemed to be more than just an accident."
While investigating the Yinshi case, Li Ming also secretly investigated the files related to the Qiao family fire that year.
In investigating the fire at Qiao's house, Li Ming did not mobilize the staff of the county government. This time when he returned to Fengshui Town, Li Ming only brought two subordinates with him, and the two subordinates were also responsible for investigating the Yinshi case.
Therefore, the coroner Han Jianchun was also drafted in to work as a laborer.
Han Jianchun was puzzled and a little wary: "Why are you suddenly investigating Xiao Qiao's family?"
Li Ming sighed, knowing that Han Jianchun was worried about Xiao Qiao, he simply told him the truth:
"Don't worry, I won't do anything bad to Xiao Qiao. On the contrary, only by investigating the truth can I better protect Xiao Qiao."
"I have an idea now, but I need more evidence to prove it. The death of Uncle Qiao and the others back then...maybe it wasn't an accident, but rather a deliberate plot."
Shortly before Uncle Qiao got into trouble, his father died in prison under unclear circumstances. Coupled with the current Yinshi case, there may be unknown connections and darkness that has never seen the light of day.
Hearing that it was for Qiao Shengyao's own good, Han Jianchun joined the investigation team without saying a word.
For several consecutive days, he checked the records in the county government office and investigated and visited the neighbors and former servants around the Qiao Mansion.
In a private room of the restaurant, Li Ming, Han Jianchun, and the two brothers Tie Yi and Tie Er sat around the table, all with serious expressions.
It was Li Ming who broke the silence first, summing it up in one sentence: "There really was something wrong with the fire at the Qiao family back then."
The records in the government office did not have any major problems. They only briefly recorded that the Qiao family had a fire in the middle of the night, and only a young master was left behind.
As for the cause of the fire, Han Jianchun's face immediately turned cold when he saw the record: the second son of the Qiao family was stupid, and he climbed out the window in the middle of the night, and his clothes swept down the candlestick, causing it to ignite.
He actually blamed the fire on Qiao Shengyao!
Li Ming tapped the table with his index finger and concluded solemnly, "There are three suspicious points now."
"First, as far as I know, due to Xiao Qiao's special circumstances when he was young, the Qiao family always arranged for someone to keep watch over him at night. Aunt Qiao was in poor health, so Xiao Qiao was mostly taken care of by his wet nurse, Xu. Later, when Xiao Qiao grew up, Xu did not leave the Qiao Mansion and became Xiao Qiao's nurse."
"Then why didn't Xu stop Xiao Qiao when she sneaked out that night? Was she away? Then what was she doing when she was supposed to be keeping watch?"
Tieyi then added, "The wet nurse, Xu, was also the second victim in the Yinshi case. Her lungs were gouged out."
Li Ming held up two fingers and said, "After visiting, some old neighbors also said that the fire at the Qiao family's house was a bit strange. When they heard the fire, they immediately rushed to put out the fire with buckets of water."
"It was too late. Most of the Qiao family's servants managed to escape in time, but Mr. Qiao and his family were all killed in the fire. The Qiao family actually hired thugs to protect them."
"Guards guard the house. Even if the ordinary servants are unaware, the more alert guards should have woken up when the fire was still small and then rescued the master."
"I'm not accusing the guards of dereliction of duty. They probably didn't even know what happened until they died. The list of casualties from the fire shows that all the guards died, except for the Qiao family."
"Second question: what made the Qiao family and the guards sleep so soundly?"
"And one last suspicious point." Li Ming's eyes turned cold. "According to the residents and several servants, they also mentioned the suspicious points to the officials, but no one paid attention. After mentioning it once, ordinary people did not dare to ask too many questions."
"What made the county government close the case so quickly despite the existing doubts?"
Inside the county yamen, after slowly looking through the documents Li Ming had handed him, County Magistrate Zhen sighed softly, "I knew you, Ming, would be able to find it, but I didn't expect it to be so fast. Back then, Lord Li was also... so perceptive."
Li Ming: Sure enough, "You deliberately reminded me that day and drew my attention to the old case."
County Magistrate Zhen called out to Li Ming, "Ah Ming, sit down and talk. If you have any questions, I will tell you everything I know."
Li Ming directly asked about the two things he was most concerned about: "How much do you know about my father's affairs and the Qiao family's affairs?"
"It's a long story, and I don't know much."
County Magistrate Zhen's eyes were blank, as if he was lost in a long memory. After a while, he came back to his senses and smiled apologetically at Li Ming:
"I remember very clearly that one day, when I was with the master, his face suddenly became very bad. He sat in the court for a long time, and it seemed that he had finally made a decision."
"I don't know what was written specifically. My Lord told me: This is a serious matter. It's not that I can't trust it, but just to avoid complications, the fewer people who know, the better. This is also for your own good."
"I only found out later that the letter was presented to the prefect by your Excellency."
Li Ming murmured, "Prefect? Not the prefect?"
County Magistrate Zhen gave a bitter laugh. "Yes, it was the prefect. Thinking back, I realized why he didn't let me get involved. I'm afraid that letter was an attempt to go beyond the level of the prefect to accuse him of something."
"As for the fire at the Qiao family, I also heard some rumors at the time and wanted to investigate. However, the official sent by the prefect closed the case..."
Li Ming added on behalf of County Magistrate Zhen: "Just close your ears and eyes, as if you can't hear or see anything. If the Yinshi case hadn't happened, you wouldn't have mentioned these things to anyone."
County Magistrate Zhen showed a trace of shame and raised his hands to cover his face. "A Ming, I also have a family to support. I can't lose my official salary, and I can't lose my life. I feel ashamed of Master Li's cultivation of me."
Li Ming shook his head. He could not say that County Magistrate Zhen was right, nor could he say that County Magistrate Zhen was wrong. It was human nature to seek good fortune and avoid misfortune. Between the truth and his life, County Magistrate Zhen had simply made the choice that was best for himself.
When Li Ming left County Magistrate Zhen's place, some of his doubts were answered, but more doubts followed.
Why did my father go over the head of the government and report the case to the state? And was he murdered when he committed suicide out of fear of punishment?
As for the fire and mysterious death in Uncle Joe's house, was it because of his father, or was it because of other reasons that led to him being silenced?
In the familiar restaurant private room, there were still Li Ming, Han Jianchun, Tie Yi and Tie Er.
Li Ming shared the clues he had received from County Magistrate Zhen with the others: "I have a notebook left by Uncle Zhen. My father committed suicide in prison, and Uncle Zhen also felt that there was something fishy going on."
Spreading the silk on the table, Li Ming glanced at Han Jianchun, lowered his eyes and said softly, "When my father and the Qiao family died, it was Cao the coroner who examined their bodies."
Han Jianchun suddenly clenched his hands into fists under the table, but this time he did not interrupt Li Ming. Perhaps, as the investigation revealed more and more clues, Han Jianchun already had some premonitions.
After a moment, Li Ming's voice rang out again, "Zhu Dayong was the jailer who guarded my father's cell back then, and Deng Zhubu was also an old man who worked in the county government office back then. Uncle Zhen has no idea what his specific involvement is."
"Everyone, please share your opinions."
Tieyi and Tieer looked at each other, and Tieyi asked worriedly, "Boss, are you okay?"
Taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly, Li Ming shook his head. "I'm fine. Or rather, I actually wanted to explore my father's past on this trip. I'm sorry for not telling you two before."
Tieyi and Tieer quickly waved their hands, "Boss, you don't have to apologize to us. It would be a great thing if we could solve our uncle's old case as well."
Li Ming asked again: "What do you all think?"
Meeting Li Ming's gaze, Tie Er took the initiative to speak carefully: "Boss, I think the murderer might be..."
Tieyi: "What is it, Lao Er, go on."
Tie Er looked at Li Ming hesitantly. Li Ming guessed something and said bluntly, "Just tell me."
Tie Er took a deep breath. "Perhaps the murderer knew the truth of what happened back then. He killed Coroner Cao, Chief Clerk Deng, and the imprisoned Zhu Dayong. It seemed like he was avenging Master Li and explaining their identities as 'criminals'. They must have done something wrong to Magistrate Li back then."
Li Ming nodded: "I also thought of this guess, is there anything else?"
Tieyi: "Tieer's idea is the same, but the first two deaths seem unrelated. Rather than Magistrate Li, the murderer seems more like he's seeking revenge for Mr. Qiao. Everyone says Mr. Qiao is a good man, and our investigation also shows that he has helped many people without expecting anything in return."
Han Jianchun suddenly stood up and was about to walk out, but Li Ming held his arm. Han Jianchun lowered his head and looked at Li Ming.
Li Ming: "Jianchun, you're being impulsive again."
Han Jianchun: "Do you also think Xiao Qiao is a little fool?"
Li Ming frowned: "Why do you suddenly say that?"
Han Jianchun: "You and I both know that Xiao Qiao is just being honest. Children are pure-hearted, but he's not stupid. He understands a lot of things. As the only survivor of the Qiao family's accident, he has the right to know."
"If the murderer is related to your father and the Qiao family, he will definitely be keeping an eye on Xiao Qiao."
Li Ming: "So?"
Han Jianchun: "So I'm going to..." protecting Xiao Qiao.
Before he could finish his words, Han Jianchun realized what was happening and sat down again. He pressed his forehead and said, "Sorry, I got impulsive again."
Just like he said before, the murderer might be secretly keeping an eye on Xiao Qiao. If he wanted to avenge his benefactor, he would most likely not kill innocent people, let alone harm the only orphan of the Qiao family.
But if Han Jianchun rashly went to find Qiao Shengyao and told him the truth, they would not be able to predict what the murderer would do.
Seeing Han Jianchun calm down, Li Ming continued, "It's even possible that the murderer had contact with Xiao Qiao, or was around Xiao Qiao."
"When everything is over, I will explain it to Xiao Qiao in person."
Whether it is for his father or Uncle Joe, revenge should not be carried out by killing. If everyone "settles" grudges privately, where is the law?
After figuring out the murderer's purpose and possible identity, Li Ming re-planned the pursuit plan and the yamen runners also started moving again.
Li Ming also decided to take the evidence and personally interrogate Zhu Dayong.
Unexpectedly, when he arrived at the prison, he found that the cell where Zhu Dayong was imprisoned was empty.
Li Ming strode to the back hall of the county government office. He did not see Zhu Dayong, but saw an unexpected person instead.
Li Ming's eyes widened slightly. In the back hall, County Magistrate Zhen held the sobbing Qiao Shengyao in his arms.
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