The next morning, Qingzhou government office.
After a good night's rest, Zhu Lan washed up, dressed neatly, and opened the door.
Lu Feng, wearing official uniform, had been waiting in the courtyard.
"Morning, Lord Zhongcheng."
"Morning, Lord Lu." Zhu Lan smiled and nodded at him, "How was the interrogation last night?"
Lu Feng smiled:
“Thanks to the Lord Zhongcheng’s foresight, he sent me a letter in advance, so I was able to bring people to the scene in time and catch him in the act.
Don't worry, after the three people were brought back last night, they were interrogated separately.
Mr. Liu was the first one who couldn't hold on any longer and gave up everything.
Master Xu is still interrogating, but judging by his condition, he will soon be unable to hold on."
Zhu Lan nodded. This was all within her expectations.
Lu Feng paused for a moment and continued:
"Mr. Zhongcheng, it's just that the magistrate of Mao County, Zhu Qian, seems to be a bit tricky... He said that he just bought the position and refused to admit that he had killed anyone.
According to my speculation, his name should also be fake."
“Buying a county magistrate is not a capital crime, but killing someone is punishable by death.
If you don’t have irrefutable evidence, he won’t plead guilty.”
After Zhu Lan finished speaking, he turned around and called Qingdai.
Soon Qingdai came out of the room with a stack of papers in her hand, a total of more than ten sheets.
Lu Feng took them carefully and looked at them. Each piece of paper had a frontal portrait of Zhu Qian drawn on it, so clear that even the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes were depicted.
Such paintings are much more realistic than those painted by painters in the government office.
Lu Feng had heard of this kind of painting technique, called "sketch", but very few people could do it. He did not expect that Zhu Zhongcheng was also an expert in it.
Lu Feng couldn't help but admire him even more.
Zhu Lan asked him to distribute these portraits and check them in government offices at all levels.
Lu Feng was somewhat troubled:
"Sir, there are only a dozen portraits in this vast sea of people. I'm afraid..."
Zhu Lan said to him:
"Last night Zhu Qian mentioned that he had been a pirate and had killed people, so this must have caused some trouble.
In the past ten years in Daliang, only the area around Xiangyang County in Jiangzhou had experienced large-scale pirate incidents and several murders.
Moreover, Zhu Qian did speak with a bit of Jiangzhou accent.
You just need to ask the Jiangzhou government to help investigate, starting with Xiangyang County and the surrounding counties and towns, and you should be able to find something."
Lu Feng suddenly realized: "So that's how it is. Thank you, Lord Zhongcheng, for your advice!"
Zhu Lan smiled at him and said gently:
"Master Lu, there is no need to be so polite.
You and I have known each other for many years. The last time I came to Qingzhou to investigate the case of the former prefect Shi Yuzhong, it would not have been so smooth without your help.
By the way, how is Miss Yin'er doing recently? Why don't I see her? And where is Brother Hu?"
Lu Feng's daughter Lu Yiner, and Hu Ping'an, whom she met in the ghost market, both made great contributions to the Qingzhou grain case that year. After that, she never heard from them again.
Lu Feng laughed and told Zhu Lan that not long after she and Zhu Qingyan left, Lu Yiner and Hu Ping'an got married.
Last year, Lu Yiner gave birth to a son and a daughter. The Ru family lived on the street behind the government office. They were very happy and harmonious.
Upon hearing that Lu Yiner had found a happy marriage because of a case, Zhu Lan was happy for her and said that he would visit her in person someday.
At this time, someone outside came to report that Xu Zhiyuan had also confessed.
Zhu Lan took over the confession, which clearly stated the fact that Master Xu had accepted bribes, and also mentioned Li Zhengqing.
Mr. Liu also admitted that he did hide a copy of the account book, which was in the Qijun Tea House in the capital.
Of course, based on Zhu Lan's understanding of Li Zhengqing, it is impossible for him to bribe in the name of the Li family, and it is not so easy for a Mr. Liu to catch him.
That account was only copied by Mr. Liu in order to threaten Master Xu, so it is unlikely that it can directly incriminate Li Zhengqing.
But Xu Zhiyuan was the nephew of Grand Tutor Xu, and every detail he revealed about the Xu family was backed by real evidence.
The best way now is to first use the confessions of Xu Zhiyuan and Mr. Liu to find out Master Xu, and then follow the clues from Master Xu to dig out Li Zhengqing's true intentions and deal him a fatal blow.
Zhu Lan immediately returned to his room and wrote a letter.
She came out with the sealed letter, and Lu Feng asked her if she needed him to send the letter from the government office and have it delivered to the capital city in a hurry, a hundred miles away.
Zhu Lan shook his head slightly and refused.
It’s not that she didn’t trust Lufeng, but she didn’t trust the official post station on the road.
The Li family has a lot of spies. If one of their people is in the official post station and the secret letter is leaked, it would be troublesome.
As for how to deliver the letter, she has her own way.
(P.S. I have been a bit depressed these past two days, so I have only updated once for two days. I apologize to you all, and I will be back soon!)
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