Chapter 716 Arsonist
Jing Yun was startled by her gaze. "It was a man. He gave me fifty taels of silver and asked me to bring this woman to Minister Li's residence. He said there was a funeral going on here and that once I brought her here, I wouldn't have anything to do. I'm telling the truth. My name is really Jing Yun. I'm an orphan without parents. I grew up with Jing Mazi from the east end of the city, so I took his surname, Jing."
Jing Yun also doesn't understand the rules.
Jiang Fenghua pressed the sword against his neck. "What kind of man is he?"
Jing Yun said, “A man wearing a cloak all over his body, with a mask covering his face, and a hoarse voice. I couldn’t see his face clearly, not even his eyes. He was also wearing gloves.”
Jiang Fenghua thought that if he was exposed, he would stage a suicide by poisoning. She didn't expect him to admit it so easily. This could only mean one thing: this person was not important. He was just someone the other party randomly found to deliberately cause trouble. The only reason why the person who made him do things was so careful was that he was afraid of being exposed, so it was someone he knew.
At this moment, Zhang Anyu arrived with his men. Seeing that the Li family's house was on fire, he quickly led his men to put out the fire.
The fire at the Li residence was quickly extinguished. The coffin, which had been doused with oil, was almost burned to pieces. Fortunately, the fire was put out in time and did not spread inside, so the body inside was not greatly affected.
Everyone who saw Shu Xue's appearance was shocked and horrified, and they all screamed in horror.
Adhering to the principle of respecting the dead, Zhang Anyu immediately had a white sheet placed over the body.
Immediately afterwards, Zhang Anyu took out his token and said, "I am here by order of the Emperor to investigate the murder of Madam Li. Madam Li, Young Master Li, please come with me to the yamen!"
Madam Li said, "Why should we go to the yamen with you? It's not like we committed a crime."
Zhang Anyu said in a deep voice, "This is the procedure for handling cases. You are the family members of the deceased, so of course you have to go to the yamen to make a statement."
He then said coldly, "Find a stretcher and carry the deceased's body to the Jingzhao Prefecture government office."
Li Cheng blocked Zhang Anyu's way and said, "Xue'er has already been murdered. You won't let her be buried properly and you even want to take her body away. What does Magistrate Zhang mean by this?"
"This is the procedure for handling the case, and we ask for your cooperation, Mr. Li." Zhang Anyu added, "You witnessed your wife's murder with your own eyes, didn't you, Mr. Li?"
“Yes, when Xue’er died, the murderer hadn’t had a chance to escape. I personally caught him,” Li Cheng said. “Wasn’t the murderer taken away by Magistrate Zhang himself?”
Zhang Anyu smiled slightly, "Therefore, I request that Young Master Li return to the yamen with me for investigation."
Li Cheng was furious. "Why should I go with you?"
"Who was Madam Li with before she died? Why did she appear at the Fulai Inn? Where was Young Master Li at that time? We must find out all of these things." He added, "I am investigating this case on the orders of the Emperor. I must find out every detail and step. I ask for Young Master Li's cooperation."
"So what if I don't cooperate? My wife is dead, I'm the victim. Instead of going back to interrogate the murderer, you're sending the Li family to the yamen to investigate. Zhang Anyu, are you trying to show favoritism? I think you're a lackey of the Jiang family!"
Zhang Anyu was a man of principle, and said coldly, "Young Master Li, please watch your words. I am an upright and honest official..."
Jiang Fenghua said, "The fire in the mourning hall was not an accident, but a deliberate act. I personally saw two maids set fire to the white sails of the mourning hall. Lord Zhang, first investigate the maids of the Li family, find the two maids who set the fire, and investigate why they burned the coffin."
"Yes." Zhang Anyu had brought the soldiers specifically to take the body back for the coroner to examine: "Everyone else, step back and bring all the maids from the Li family over..."
The officers and soldiers acted quickly and got to work immediately.
Li Cheng was also confused, "What, a maid who set fire?"
Jiang Fenghua sneered, "Young Master Li witnessed it with his own eyes. This fire almost turned your entire Li family mansion to ashes. Has the Li family offended someone?"
Li Cheng's pupils contracted. "What are you saying, Your Highness? The Li family has not offended anyone." Could it be that person sent someone to set fire to the Li family's house?
He was also frightened by the fire just now. Fortunately, the fire was brought under control in time, otherwise the Li family would have been wiped out.
Everyone became panicked. What maid did the Empress see? It's been so long, if there really was a maid who started the fire, she must have already escaped!
Lu Xuefei leaned close to Jiang Fenghua's ear and whispered, "Your Majesty, check Madam Li's maid. It was her maid who was guarding the mourning hall just now. After everyone else left, they left too." That's how she had the opportunity to open the coffin.
Jiang Fenghua asked, "Where is the personal maid who serves Young Madam Li?"
Madam Li retorted stubbornly, "Why would we need to find them? They wouldn't set fire to their own master."
Jiang Fenghua said coldly, "How can Madam Li be so sure they wouldn't set the fire? Madam Li should know best who is guarding the mourning hall! Or is it that you're preventing them from coming out to assist in the investigation? Madam Li doesn't want to find out the cause of Shu Xue's death at all. Is Madam Li hiding something?"
Madam Li was taken aback for a moment, then quickly said, "What do you mean by 'I have a guilty conscience'? Peixin, go and call Chunxiang and Qiuju over here."
Jiang Fenghua added, "Are there only Chunxiang and Qiuju? There's no one else."
"They were all servants who came to the Li family as part of Shu Xue's dowry, so they naturally had to keep vigil on their own. Shu Xue's mouth was rather unpleasant, so the others were unwilling to keep vigil by her coffin." Madam Li was also sharp-tongued; she and Shu Xue were like two thorns in each other's side.
"Just now you called her Xue'er, and now you're calling her by her full name. Madam Li changes quite quickly," Jiang Fenghua said sarcastically.
Actually, everyone knows that Mrs. Li and her daughter-in-law don't have a good relationship.
Soon, all the maids arrived, but Chunxiang and Qiuju were nowhere to be seen.
At this moment, soldiers captured two maids carrying bundles from the backyard. "They are Chunxiang and Qiuju, the maids of Madam Li. They wanted to escape."
Zhang Anyu asked, "Did you set the fire?"
The two maids trembled with fear and immediately knelt on the ground: "We didn't mean to start the fire, we didn't do it on purpose."
Before Jiang Fenghua could speak, Lu Xuefei said, "They're lying. There must be something wrong with them."
Everyone glanced at Lu Xuefei, recognizing her as Lu Tingwei's daughter. She felt somewhat embarrassed, "If you have nothing to hide, why are you running away? Why are you all running?"
The two stammered, "We didn't...we didn't run away. It's just that the young mistress is gone, so there's no need for us to stay. We accidentally knocked over the oil lamp, which caused the fire. We're afraid of being punished if we don't leave..."
Jiang Fenghua said, "Prefect Zhang, let's take them back to the yamen for questioning first!" There was no use in asking more questions; this case still needed to be formally handled at the yamen.
They did not deny that they started the fire, but instead claimed that they accidentally knocked over the oil lamp, turning a deliberate act into an accident. It seems someone taught them to say this, and they ran away because they were afraid of being punished. It seems that person had already thought of this.
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