Chapter 54: The Real Murderer
Amid the crowd's low murmurs, she saw Jian Anting standing motionless, his expression slightly changed. She raised her hand and patted the hem of his raincoat, continuing mercilessly, "It was raining constantly and the weather was humid. Although Zheng Junshan wore this raincoat, it was hung high on the wall to drain the water, but the top dried quickly, while the palm fibers at the bottom hadn't yet dried. If you hadn't been hiding there, how could your lower body have been wrapped in the half-wet raincoat and thus look so strangely damp?"
Under her rapid questioning, Jian Anting took two steps back, helplessly saying, "No... County Lady, how can you be so groundless? I was simply, simply because my family was poor and I rarely had a change of clothes, so I wore half-dry clothes that day. Is that a crime? County Lady, what reason do you think I had to kill Zheng Junshan?"
Qian Deng said mercilessly: "Of course it's to cover up the fact that you killed Yu Guangling."
As soon as these words were spoken, everyone around them exclaimed in surprise.
Jian Anting calmed down and asked, "County Lady, I wasn't even by Guangling's side when he was murdered. You and Shangluo were standing on the podium at the time and saw him leave first. I lagged behind and arrived a long time later. I was never near the library alley where he was killed. How could I be the murderer of Guangling? If I didn't kill Guangling, why did I kill Zheng Junshan?"
"Who says you couldn't have taken action just because you weren't by Yu Guangling's side when he was murdered?" Qian Deng opened the rattan box brought in by the Dali Temple officials and placed a long, curved bamboo stick on the desk. "This stick was found inside Zheng Junshan's porcelain pillow. It's stained with blood and mud, so he must have taken it from the place where Yu Guangling was murdered."
Jian Anting stared at Qian Deng's confident demeanor and couldn't utter a word.
Qian Deng's voice was calm as he asked, "Shangluo, do you still remember what Zheng Junshan said to you in front of Shengfa Casino before the incident?"
"Brother Junshan said at the time...that cousin Jin was wrongly accused, and that he had a clue." Shangluo looked at Jian Anting in panic, then calmed down before stutteringly repeating what Zheng Junshan had said that day. "He said that someone in the Imperial College had a motive and the time to commit the crime, and he even accidentally discovered the method used...but at the time, we didn't know what the murderer was doing."
"The bamboo slips found at the spot where Yu Guangling was murdered were found in Zheng Junshan's house, securely stored. It seems this is the clue to his method." Qian Deng stared at Jian Anting, emphasizing each word. "Although you weren't near the alley at the time, you could have easily taken advantage of the right time, place, and people to kill your close friend Yu Guangling!"
Jian Anting's gaze fell on the bamboo slip, his eyelashes trembled violently, and his face finally showed a hint of paleness.
Others might not have noticed, but Ling Tianshui was so perceptive that he immediately caught the flash of suspicion in his eyes, and from his defensive expression, he saw the moment of defense being broken.
Even though Qian Deng had not yet confessed the case, he immediately knew that everything she knew and deduced was absolutely safe.
It seems that - Ling Tianshui's gaze paused on Meng Lanxi's frail body. There was no need for him to take action. Meng Lanxi had been cleared of the grievances, and his mother could rest in peace in the ground.
Jian Anting forced himself to remain calm and sneered, "You, the county lady, are really imagining things. This bamboo stick is so light and thin. Could I possibly use it to kill Yu Guangling outside the library?"
"No, I also took the Dali Temple's coroner to examine the wound on Yu Guangling's chest in detail. It is undoubtedly the murder weapon." Cui Fufeng, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke and signaled the officers to get ready. They were going to move to the library alley.
"Let's go to the scene where Yu Guangling was murdered. I believe the county lady will be able to expose the disguise, clarify the truth, and bring the murderer to justice."
In the aisles of the library, the accumulated water that had been cleared by the students had accumulated into puddles again due to a night of rain.
The alley was narrow, only wide enough for one person to walk. Everyone stopped outside the alley, looking at Qiandeng, waiting for her to reveal the final mystery.
Although the continuous autumn rain has stopped, the weather is still gloomy, making Qiandeng's eyes look particularly cold and clear.
"Since everything must be concluded today, let us start from the beginning and explain everything clearly, starting from the moment Yu Guangling was murdered."
Qian Deng said, looking at Shang Luo. "That day, I went to the Imperial College with Shang Luo to borrow scriptures to pray for my loved ones. Shang Luo was worried that I was worried and depressed, so he took me to the lecture platform. From our high vantage point, we looked down and happened to see Yu Guangling and Jian Anting walking out of the library. Then, Jian Anting stopped, and Yu Guangling walked on alone."
Shangluo immediately said, "I remember! The county lady and I saw it that day. Later, Brother Anting... Jian Anting told us that it was because he saw Brother Jin coming and Brother Guangling didn't want to conflict with him, so Jian Anting stayed to stop him and Brother Guangling left first."
Jian Anting said in a deep voice, "That's exactly what happened. Everyone witnessed Guangling's accident, but I wasn't with him!"
"He's definitely not there, because this is the false evidence you painstakingly found for yourself, proving you didn't kill Yu Guangling." Qian Deng said mercilessly, "Let me ask you, Yu Guangling has poor eyesight and can't see far away, but how did he know Jin Tang was coming? After all, we were standing on the high podium, with a much wider field of vision than you, yet we didn't see Jin Tang, which means he must have been quite far away. So, how did Yu Guangling 'see' Jin Tang coming?"
Jian Anting's expression changed slightly, and he opened his mouth but didn't know how to start.
"Yeah, I had a hangover and a headache that day, so I went to the ditch to wash my face. Suddenly, I realized that bastard Xue Xiyang was borrowing my knife to kill that guy in Yu Guangling, so I threw the knife away and went back to the school to sleep!" Jin Tang yelled, inevitably glaring at Xue Xiyang. "I haven't even reached the library yet, how did you see me?"
"Of course, Jian Anting, who was beside Yu Guangling, told him. The purpose was to lure Yu Guangling into a trap set in advance to kill him." Qian Deng saw Jian Anting remained silent, so he spoke for him. "Because of my choice of a son-in-law, Yu Guangling and Jin Tang are at odds and don't want to meet. And the library area has no shelter for fire and theft prevention. The only place Yu Guangling could temporarily hide was this narrow alley. As you expected, he really entered the alley and walked towards everything you prepared for him!"
As he spoke, Qiandeng ignored the dirtiness of the accumulated water, picked up a branch nearby, and prepared to wade into the alley to demonstrate.
Cui Fufeng raised his hand to stop her: "Let me do it, just tell me."
As he spoke, he took the branch from her hand and motioned for her to speak.
Qian Deng said, "Could you please ask Mr. Cui to measure the depth of the water in this alley?"
Cui Fufeng stepped into the puddle, inserted the branch into the water, and then took it out to show everyone.
The branches were soaked in water for half a foot.
"Half a foot, and the water in the pit is murky, enough to hide a lot of things without being noticed. What's more, there's Yu Guangling who has eye problems." Qiandeng raised the curved bamboo piece in his hand and showed it to everyone. "For example, I wonder if you have seen this thing?"
Most of her candidates for fiancé were talented young men who did not do farming. Cui Fufeng was from a famous aristocrat, Jin Tang was spoiled, Yan Penglai was a practitioner of Taoism, Xue Xiyang was an elegant musician, and Shang Luo was a playful young man. They had never come into contact with these things, so naturally they were puzzled.
Only Shi Jingning had a difficult family life since childhood, and Meng Lanxi grew up in a tea garden, so they knew what it was.
"This looks like the claw rake. They bend the bamboo and arrange several pieces in a scattered pattern to resemble claws. They're used to rake grass and clear fallen leaves. I've used it in my tea garden."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com