Chapter 525 Fox's Tail
After everything was settled, Xu Zhengping and Ding Gaochang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"I never thought that the person sent to investigate the case this time would be Lord Chu." Xu Zhengping said with emotion, "Lord Chu is very famous in the Ministry of Justice and has handled many major cases. The previous Cuiwei Lake incident was also saved by Lord Chu's advice. With Lord Chu here this time, I think this case will soon be solved."
"Yeah." Ding Gaochang also nodded.
He had also heard of Chu Jinnian's reputation.
Although he is young, he holds a high official position, but it is not because of his status as the Prince of Qi, but because he truly convinces the people with his ability. Such a person is truly admirable.
With Chu Jinnian here, there seems to be hope for this case.
Ding Gaochang's eyes, which had been dark for some time, had a little light in them, but his expression was still quite solemn. "It's just that Lord Chu seems to have always believed that this Hongyu is quite suspicious. I don't know why."
"Hongyu's survival inevitably aroused suspicion. Didn't you start investigating Hongyu first? It was only because you didn't have any evidence that you gave up."
"But just because we can't find out anything for now doesn't mean there's nothing wrong with the red jade. You placed the red jade here because you had doubts in your heart. To be safe, you asked someone to look after it in the name of protecting it from the murderer. You also wanted to see if you could find some clues."
"I think Lord Chu is the same, and if Lord Chu can find another way and find new clues..."
Xu Zhengping didn't finish his words, but just looked at Ding Gaochang.
Find a different approach?
Ding Gaochang's eyes suddenly lit up.
The night is getting darker.
The whole earth fell into silence. Apart from the occasional shouting of the night watchman outside, there was no other sound.
The same was true in the prison. All the prisoners had already laid down in the haystacks, wrapped in their worn cotton-padded clothes, curled up together, and fell into a deep sleep.
The sounds of snoring and grinding teeth, some high and some low, are endless.
The jailer was also very sleepy at this time. He was either sleeping soundly on the table or dozing with his head supported by his hands. Occasionally he would wake up, pretend to patrol the prison, and then go back to dozing off again.
It can be said that there was sleepiness everywhere.
A slight "clang" sound was suddenly heard, as if the mouse, in panic, kicked over the burning oil lamp. The lamp oil and flames immediately fell to the ground, and burned with a "swish", igniting the hay next to it.
The fire spread rapidly in an instant, the flames illuminated the entire prison red, and thick smoke billowed, waking everyone in the prison from their sleep.
"The fire broke out!"
Panic screams suddenly broke out.
Then, "Save me!"
Shouts of "Let me out!"
Hongyu was also woken up. She rubbed her sleepy eyes and realized that the entire prison was engulfed in flames. Her eyes were filled with panic.
He jumped off the bed, not even bothering to put on his shoes, and hurriedly opened the door.
Because Hongyu was not a real criminal and would not run around, the door was never locked, but just fastened. At this time, she opened the door quite smoothly and ran out.
But after running two steps, Hongyu almost bumped into someone who was rushing towards her, and was suddenly startled.
When Hongyu saw that the people coming were Xu Zhengping and Ding Gaochang, her face turned even paler.
But she soon calmed down, laughed, and reached out to hug Ding Gaochang, "Mom, you're here. I missed you so much."
"Mom, are you going to cook lunch? I see the fire is lit and it smells delicious. Can you make dumplings for me at noon? I want to eat dumplings."
"Uncle, you're here too?"
Hongyu pointed at Xu Zhengping and laughed, pulling Xu Zhengping inside, "Uncle, look, I saved some candied haws for you, do you want to eat some?"
Xu Zhengping looked at the half-dried rat in her hand, stepped back in fear, and ordered the yamen runners beside him, "Hurry up and help put out the fire, and look around to see if anyone is injured."
"Someone come and look after her."
"Yes." The yamen runners hurriedly got to work.
Because the hay in the prison was damp, when the fire was ignited, the smoke looked big but the fire did not burn much. In addition, everyone was very concerned about fire in winter, and the fire was put out in time, so it was quickly extinguished.
After cleaning up the prison, comforting the prisoners, and reminding everyone to be careful and cautious, Xu Zhengping and Ding Gaochang left the prison.
When they returned to the county government office, both of them looked solemn.
Ding Gaochang was especially silent for a while before he spoke, "This fox's tail is hidden deep enough."
When Hongyu saw them just now, the panic on her face was obvious. If she was a crazy person, she would never behave like that. Although Hongyu reacted very quickly, he still saw it clearly.
If her madness is just pretend, then her purpose is self-evident.
After investigating the case for so many days and observing it for so many days, Ding Gaochang didn't find anything wrong. When he suddenly discovered it, he was naturally furious.
He was angry at Hongyu's insidiousness and cunning, and even more angry at his own incompetence.
"But no matter how deep it hides, a fox is still a fox, and there will always be a day when its tail will show." Xu Zhengping said in a deep voice, "It seems that when investigating cases in the future, we should not act too according to common sense, but also need to be flexible."
"Yes." Ding Gaochang nodded, and then sighed, "This Lord Chu is really amazing, but..."
How could he see through the fact that Hongyu was fake so quickly? -- The next morning, before daybreak.
When Chu Jinnian finished washing up, Ding Gaochang and Xu Zhengping were already waiting outside the house.
"You two adults have dark circles under their eyes, but they look in good spirits. I vaguely heard some noise outside last night. It seems like you two adults gained a lot last night?" Chu Jinnian said with a serious look.
"Last night, the prison accidentally caught fire, and I and others went to put out the fire, so there was a bit of noise, but fortunately, some people's true colors were revealed last night, so we did gain something."
Ding Gaochang cupped his hands and said, "Lord Chu is truly a man of foresight. I admire you."
"But I don't know how you, my Lord, saw through Hongyu's madness and saw it as a pretense."
"It's not difficult."
Chu Jin replied with a young smile, "The Ma family was poisoned, it must have been done by someone they knew. And how could someone who was so familiar with the Ma family not know that Hongyu, the maidservant who was respected by everyone, was not at home when he poisoned them? It doesn't make sense that someone who wanted to kill the entire Ma family would miss Hongyu."
"If someone deliberately spared Hongyu's life in order to push the suspicion onto her, although the idea is reasonable, it is clear that the Ma family treated Hongyu well, and Hongyu was grateful and had no intention of harming her master. As far as the government is concerned, there is no definite evidence, and Hongyu will naturally not plead guilty, so there is no way to convict her."
Today is the birthday of the Party. May the country be prosperous and the people strong, and may the people live in peace and health~ (End of this chapter)
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