Chapter 393 Finding an Excuse
Sun Chen's death was related to Wei.
Sun and Chen refer to the former county magistrate, Lord Sun, and the former county magistrate, Lord Chen.
The "Wei" likely refers to Prefect Wei of Huzhou Prefecture, who was their superior. They suspected that they had some dirt on Prefect Wei, which is why they hired someone to silence him.
The couple weren't particularly shocked by the contents of the letter, because they had already begun to suspect Lord Wei even before they had found any evidence.
Meng Jinyao said softly, "Husband, it seems that it really was Lord Wei who did it."
Gu Jingxi nodded slightly, then unwrapped another package wrapped in oil paper and found two letters. Upon opening one of the letters, he saw that the handwriting was not that of Lord Liu. The handwriting in this letter was rather messy, as if it had been written in a hurry, and the ink was not completely dry before the letter was folded. The letter was stained a bit black by the ink, but the handwriting was still legible.
The letter contained only a dozen or so words: Shen Qinghe, Shen Qingshan, the Li family, Prefect Wei, and Lord Sun was silenced.
Meng Jinyao frowned: "Husband, this should have been written by Lord Chen. He wrote it in such a hurry that he must have known he was going to die. This letter was probably discovered by Lord Liu, who was sent to investigate the case. Lord Liu followed the clues and found out about Lord Wei's affairs, so he was silenced as well."
Gu Jingxi nodded. After reading the two letters, the case was actually clear. It all started with Shen Qinghe's death. Lord Sun sentenced the Li family's son to beheading, but Lord Wei, having accepted a bribe, overturned Lord Sun's verdict, forcing Shen Qingshan to confess. However, Lord Sun continued to pursue the case relentlessly, also targeting Lord Wei, presumably because he had discovered something that led Lord Wei to silence him. Lord Chen's later connections with the Li family's father were likely also part of a covert investigation.
A moment later, Gu Jingxi opened another letter. The handwriting was that of Lord Liu. It stated that the deaths of the previous two county magistrates were caused by Lord Wei. Lord Wei was corrupt and accepted bribes, which led to wrongful convictions and the deaths of innocent people. Moreover, he had accepted bribes more than once, but much of the evidence had been destroyed.
Gu Jingxi put down the letter. This was all expected. Before coming to Deqing County, he knew that Lord Wei had accepted bribes, but he couldn't find Lord Wei's private accounts or the letters between Lord Wei and others to prove it, so he couldn't solidify the charges.
Meng Jinyao asked in bewilderment, "Lord Liu placed them in two different places, probably thinking about the principle of not putting all your eggs in one basket. But why would Lord Liu put the letter on the roof beam? Most people wouldn't think of putting it on the roof beam. Isn't he afraid that others won't be able to find it?"
Gu Jingxi replied, "These are usually marked. If you examine them carefully, you can probably figure out which room has the same mark. If it were Mo Bai who came today, he probably could have found it too. I once tried to find evidence from these marks when I was investigating a case with Lord Liu."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao asked curiously, "Where did you find the evidence that time?"
Gu Jingxi said, "The outhouse is such a dirty place that most people wouldn't go there. Unless they leave some strange markings as a guide, they wouldn't go there to find the hidden evidence. It's a last resort. They're afraid that bad guys will find it no matter where they put it. Places that are easy to overlook might be lost forever. But it's better than leaving nothing at all. Leaving something behind gives you a glimmer of hope."
Meng Jinyao asked again, "Husband, now that we know Shen Qingshan was wronged, the murderer must be the young master of the Li family. Tonight, should Chan'er disguise herself as Shen Qinghe and go to the Li family to try and get information out of the young master?"
Gu Jingxi shook his head slightly and said slowly, "There's no need for now, lest we alert the enemy. Let's go back to Huzhou City first and find Lord Wei's private accounts. Once we find his private accounts, his deeds will be exposed, and it will be easy to overturn the case."
“Otherwise, even if we arrest and interrogate the young master of the Li family and that deaf-mute couple, as long as they insist that Shen Qingshan did it, there is nothing we can do. After all, Shen Qingshan is dead, and there is no way to verify his testimony. And it is not enough for me to just have these letters in my hands, because there is no strong evidence to prove that Lord Wei accepted bribes, fabricated false cases, and disregarded human life, and there is no way to prove that what is said in the letters is true.”
Afterwards, Gu Jingxi told Chan'er to cancel tonight's operation. As for the Shen couple, he instructed Fang Ce to send them back to their new residence in the neighboring county. He told them not to return to Deqing County for the time being, but to wait for news at their new residence.
During dinner that evening, Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao bid farewell to Lord Du, saying they would return to Huzhou City the next day.
Lord Du was quite surprised: "Yaoling, you're leaving already? Why don't you stay a few more days?"
Gu Jingxi said gently, "Uncle, we are going back to Huzhou City tomorrow and then back to the capital the day after. We originally came here on leave to go back to our hometown to pay respects to our ancestors, so we can't stay any longer."
"That……"
Lord Du thought about the case, but hesitated to speak because of the presence of the maid.
Gu Jingxi nodded with a smile, everything understood without words.
Seeing this, Lord Du understood his meaning. He guessed that he had found some clues, but he couldn't stay too long to avoid alerting the enemy.
After dinner, Lord Du went to Gu Jingxi again to inquire about the situation. After all, the previous two county magistrates had passed away, and he was afraid that he might suddenly die one day.
Gu Jingxi reassured him, "Uncle, don't worry. As long as you don't care about anything, pretend you know nothing, and don't delve into their affairs, you won't end up like them."
Lord Du was a smart man, and he understood what he meant as soon as he heard this. The previous two county magistrates probably died because they knew too much.
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The next day.
Gu Jingxi and Meng Jinyao then returned to Huzhou City.
Upon returning to Huzhou City and entering his home, Gu Jingxi told the steward that they would be returning to the capital the next day. He instructed the servants to pack their luggage and to buy some durable pastries, dried fruits, and snacks to eat on the way back to the capital.
Meng Jinyao was completely confused by him. She dragged him back to the room and asked in bewilderment, "Husband, weren't you looking for a private debt? Why are you back in the capital so soon?"
Gu Jingxi smiled and said, "I definitely won't go back so soon. I don't have an excuse to stay longer right now. It's just for show. I'll have another reason to stay tomorrow."
Meng Jinyao asked curiously, "Then what excuse will you use to stay tomorrow, husband?"
Gu Jingxi didn't say it directly, but only said, "Ayao will know tomorrow, just don't be frightened, your husband is not sick or injured."
Upon hearing this, Meng Jinyao seemed to be thinking, and had a guess in her mind, but she was not quite sure.
That night, Gu Jingxi was full of energy and kept her up for half the night.
However, when Meng Jinyao woke up the next day, she found that her husband was still asleep, his eyes were closed, and his face was flushed. She reached out and touched his cheek and found that his cheek was very hot, as if he had a high fever.
Meng Jinyao panicked instantly, but quickly remembered what he had said yesterday. She knew that his body was definitely fine, but she didn't know how it had turned out this way. However, she had to cooperate.
Therefore, Meng Jinyao took a deep breath, composed herself, and then quickly got out of bed. Without even putting on her shoes, she hurriedly ran out to find a maid, saying anxiously, "Someone come quickly! Go find a doctor! The Marquis is ill!"
Seeing her in such a panic, with her hair disheveled and barefoot, the maidservant guessed that the Marquis must be very ill. Such a sudden illness was never minor. She quickly agreed and ran to tell the servant to fetch a doctor, since the servant was faster.
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