Lu Zheng was determined to investigate Chai Shuang's case. The first thing he had to do was to determine the cause of his death. However, Chai Shuang had been dead for so many years that many evidences had disappeared. Even so, they still exhumed the body.

There was only a skull in the coffin that had turned into white bones. There was a small bone fracture on the forehead of the skull, which was where the red arrow had pierced.

Shihu lit the atractylodes and ginger slices, and recited a mantra for rebirth as usual, then carefully took out the skull and placed it on a white cloth beside him. There was too little information contained in just one skull, so after Shihu examined it, he could only confirm that the knife that cut off Chai Shuang's head was very sharp, and there were traces of being hit by a heavy object on the top of the head.

Lu Zheng had not intended to find obvious clues from this bone. He just thought it was strange. With Jin Hanxuan's ability, there was not much difference between hanging a head and a body at the door of the Jiang family. Why did they go to such great lengths to chop off the head? And how did they deal with the body of the deceased?

Putting these doubts aside for the time being, Lu Zheng still needed to know one thing, that is, the motive.

Lu Zheng once suspected that Chai Shuang knew the identity of Jiang Sanniang, which led to Jin Hanxuan killing him to silence him, but after seeing Jin Hanxuan's performance, Lu Zheng began to doubt this motive.

If it was just because of Jiang Sanniang's identity, they could have just killed her quietly. Why would they have made such a big fuss? If it wasn't because of Chai Shuang's death, Jiang Sanniang wouldn't have been so defensive against them.

Wait, defensive?!

Lu Zheng was stunned. A woman like Jiang Sanniang must be very defensive. Would she really be unguarded and tell him everything when they first met?

Previously, Lu Zheng thought that the most important secret for Jiang Sanniang was the identity of the Red Thief. Since she could reveal this identity to him, she would not lie about other things. But after discovering Jin Hanxuan's attitude towards this case, Lu Zheng no longer thought so. There must be something else in this case, and Chai Shuang's identity was definitely not simple.

As for Jiang Sanniang, her words seemed innocent, but in fact, she had been guiding him. So maybe she had deliberately exposed her identity from the beginning so that he could let down his guard against her.

Lu Zheng frowned, thinking back to the conversation with Jiang Sanniang. The reason why he came to investigate Chai Shuang's case was because of Jiang Sanniang's guidance. So, what did she want him to find out in this case?

Lu Zheng thought about it and decided to start from the murder of the two elders of the Jiang family. On the surface, this was the reason why Chai Shuang was killed, so what was the truth?

The case files of the handling of the gang of bandits were still there. The main criminal was sentenced to immediate execution, and the accomplices were basically exiled, but there were also some people who managed to escape from prison. According to the information obtained by You Xiaowu, there is indeed a bandit still in Qingxi County, and now he is making a living by forging iron in a small town.

Lu Zheng took Bao Zheng and Qing Luan to Tongliu Town. Liu Heizi's blacksmith shop was easy to find. Lu Zheng just asked someone for directions and found it quickly.

The blacksmith shop was in full swing. A tall and strong figure was standing by the furnace hammering iron. He was bare-chested and his skin was shining in the firelight. This person was Liu Heizi they were looking for.

As soon as Lu Zheng walked into the blacksmith shop, a short man came over and asked, "What ironware do you want to make?"

Lu Zheng shook his head and said, "We are looking for Liu Heizi."

Hearing his voice, the tall and strong figure stopped hammering, put the formed iron block into cold water, and then walked over slowly.

Liu Heizi spoke in a hushed voice, "What is it?"

Lu Zheng said, "I am the county lieutenant of Qingxi County, and I have something to ask you."

Liu Heizi said in awe, "Please tell me, sir. I will tell you everything I know." Lu

Zheng was relieved that the other party was so cooperative. He was afraid that the other party was a troublemaker, which would be troublesome.

Liu Heizi took them to the backyard and asked his wife to serve them tea, then he stood aside stiffly.

Lu Zheng asked, "Did you rob and rob with Jiang Wenchang?"

Liu Heizi's face turned pale, and he quickly said, "I was just hungry... I have never killed anyone..."

Lu Zheng knew that those who killed people were basically executed as the main culprits, and the court would generally let some small accomplices off. He softened his face and said, "Don't worry, since the case has been sentenced, I won't hold on to it. I came to you for other things."

Liu Heizi was relieved: "Ask."

Lu Zheng asked, "Were the parents of Jiang Sanniang who lived in this county killed by people from your village?"

Liu Heizi thought for a while before saying, "It seems to be the case."

"As far as I know, your village is not the type of people who kill everyone without mercy. Generally, you won't make things difficult for people if they are paid. The two elders of the Jiang family should not have much property on them, so you plundered them. Why don't you give them a way out?

" Liu Heizi shook his head and said, "We all listen to Jiang Wenchang in our village. We do whatever he says. He ordered the killing of people, and I don't know why."

"Then do you remember what Jiang Wenchang said?"

Liu Heizi thought about it, and finally shook his head: "I can't remember."

Lu Zheng was a little discouraged and asked other questions. Liu Heizi answered honestly, but he didn't know much. He just repeatedly emphasized that he was following Jiang Wenchang's orders.

Just when Lu Zheng thought he was going to return empty-handed, Liu Heizi suddenly said, "I remembered something, I don't know if it can help you, sir."

Lu Zheng perked up: "What is it?"

"Before killing the two elders of the Jiang family, Jiang Wenchang seemed to have said something to them. I was quite close at the time, and I seemed to have heard the words 'destroy the family'..." Liu Heizi scratched his head, "Anyway, after he said that, the two were frightened and trembled, and they kowtowed to him and begged for mercy, but Jiang Wenchang still killed them. Not long after that, the court sent troops to encircle and suppress the mountain stronghold, and then... you should know everything."

Lu Zheng frowned and said : "Isn't this Jiang Wenchang from your village?"

Liu Heizi nodded and said, "He moved here a few years ago. Although he doesn't like to talk, he will go to anyone who asks him for help." He glanced at Lu Zheng carefully and whispered, "In fact, Jiang Wenchang is a very good person. He didn't take anything he robbed, and left it all to the people in the village..."

Lu Zheng asked again, "Then do you know where Jiang Wenchang was from before?"

"I don't know. He never likes to talk about these things, even if someone asks. But my cousin used to be a peddler, and he said that Jiang Wenchang's accent sounds like he came from the west."

After leaving Liu Heizi's house, Bao Zheng asked, "Did you find anything?"

Lu Zheng sighed, "This case is getting more complicated. It seems that we still have to go back and look for the materials of the bandit suppression."

The person in charge of the bandit suppression was the county lieutenant of Nanxia County. Lu Zheng sent Bao Zheng to the county government to find Hang Jue to borrow the case files of the bandit suppression. He then re-read the case files of the murder of the two elders of the Jiang family.

The bodies of the two elders of the Jiang family were found by a naughty child. The bodies of the two elders of the Jiang family were thrown into the bushes beside the road, but this place was far away from the mountain stronghold where Jiang Wenchang and his men were. Lu Zheng asked Liu Heizi, they didn't rob the Jiang family elders in an ordinary place, but Jiang Wenchang took them there specially, as if he was specifically guarding these two people. Lu Zheng

also thought about Liu Heizi's words of destroying the family, could it be that the Jiang family elders and Jiang Wenchang had another vendetta against each other? Lu Zheng shook his head, he actually believed that it was Jiang Sanniang's master, the former Red Thief, who did it.

If the Red Robe Thief killed Jiang Wenchang's family and fled to Qingxi County, and Jiang Wenchang also came to Qingxi County after tracking down the thief, but the Red Robe Thief was already dead when he arrived, he vented his anger on the Red Robe Thief's servant, that is, the two elders of the Jiang family, or in other words, the two elders of the Jiang family were also accomplices in the tragic case.

Then, what does Chai Shuang have to do with this matter?

Why did Jin Hanxuan and others kill Chai Shuang?

Lu Zheng felt that his mind was in a mess. All the clues were like a thousand tangled threads. He pulled out one thread but it led to a whole bunch of threads. He thought he could solve the puzzle but it led to a bigger case. Lu Zheng felt that he must have missed some key clue. As long as he could find this clue, all the cases would be solved.

So, what is this?