Chapter 299 The murder weapon is not a murder weapon
"We're not running away!" Jingyao interrupted, "Daddy just said he wanted to leave this sad place and take me to live somewhere else. If it weren't for the heavy rain and the difficult roads, we would have left two days ago."
Lu Sicong saw the Regent's gaze fall on him, nodded, and said with a gloomy expression:
"Your Highness, that's exactly what happened. I only wanted to take A-Yao away from here. I have never done anything like harming anyone's life."
"Your Highness, we are not the kind to make groundless accusations. The evidence and witnesses all point to Lu Er!" Lu Guangzu said, "Lu Hai was an old man living alone, helpless and helpless, and now he has been murdered inexplicably. He cannot die in such an unclear way. I hope Your Highness will show mercy and give old man Lu Hai justice!"
When he said this, some villagers also echoed in a low voice:
"Yes, there are witnesses and evidence. If Lu Er insists on saying that he didn't kill anyone, he has to produce evidence."
"It's said that the Regent loves his people like his own children. We can't let the poor people die in vain while the murderer goes unpunished..."
"But Lu Er knows the prince, so the prince won't protect him, right?"
Nan Zheng quickly pulled out half of his sword, and these people immediately shut up and stopped moving.
However, Nan Zheng did not deal with these people like he did with Lu Da. After all, suppressing public opinion by force can only work temporarily. If the problem itself is not solved, it will only cause the master to be criticized.
Seeing that the situation had quieted down, Nanzheng sheathed his sword and waited for his master's instructions.
Xiao Changheng glanced at the people kneeling on the ground, turned to look at Yun Qingqing, and said softly:
"You take a rest first. After I finish the case, we will set off back to Beijing."
The light in Yun Qingqing's dark eyes flickered, taking on a hint of coldness.
"No, let's go together."
Xiao Changheng noticed that her expression was strange, but did not stop her. The two of them, led by the villagers, came to Lu Hai's house.
The body was placed in the middle of the yard, covered with a white cloth. A group of villagers followed, but few dared to come in. They were all outside, peeking in with fear and curiosity.
Yun Qingqing stepped forward first and was about to lift the white cloth when Lu Guangzu cautiously dissuaded her:
"Princess, the death of old man Lu Hai is extremely strange. I'm afraid it will shock you..."
"No problem."
Yun Qingqing uncovered the white cloth without changing her expression.
The deceased was a burly old man in his fifties or sixties.
The expression on his face was ferocious and terrifying, his eyeballs were almost bulging out, his forehead was scratched and bloody, and a knife was stuck in his heart, penetrating all the way to the handle.
When Lu Sicong saw the knife, his expression changed.
Lu Guangzu pointed at the hilt and said:
"This knife belongs to Lu Er. Almost everyone in our village who needs ironwork or repairs comes to him. Many people have seen this knife. Look, there's even his special mark engraved on the handle!"
Yun Qingqing looked at Lu Sicong, only to see him say with a pale face:
"The knife is mine, sure, but I definitely didn't kill him! Uncle Hai and I have no grudges against each other, so why would I kill him?"
"That's hard to say!"
Luda covered his swollen face, his voice was a little unclear when he spoke, but his momentum was strong:
"More than ten years ago, when you first got married, you had a huge fight because Uncle Hai teased your younger sister, and you almost got into a fight!"
"Who knows if you've been holding this grudge for over ten years, and you're planning to leave soon, so you're killing him to vent your anger?"
"After all, you're such an ungrateful person! You can even cruelly send your own mother, who has raised you for over thirty years, to the government. What else can't you do?"
When he made such a noise, the villagers also began to whisper.
When Old Lady Zhao lost the banknotes, many people gathered at the scene and knew it was Old Lady Zhao's own fault. But less than half a day after they dispersed, the news that Old Lady Zhao was sent to the authorities spread.
Rumor has it that Lu Er is not his biological son, and that Old Lady Zhao was sent to the authorities because she killed her second daughter-in-law. However, rumors tend to get distorted as they spread, and now there are many different opinions.
Rumors are scary, which is one of the reasons why Lu Sicong decided to take his daughter away from here.
At this moment, many people felt that what Lu Da said made sense, and Lu Sicong's face turned even paler.
At this moment, Yun Qingqing spoke in a cold voice:
"You believe that Lu Sicong is the murderer, presuming that Lu Hai was indeed killed by this knife, but that is not the case."
Everyone was stunned when they heard the sound.
Lu Guangzu looked at the knife stuck in the corpse's heart, then looked at Yun Qingqing blankly:
"...What do you mean, Princess? Uncle Hai was clearly stabbed in the heart by this knife and died."
Yun Qingqing shook her head and pointed at Lu Hai's chest:
"Look carefully, is there any blood flowing around the knife?"
Lu Guangzu looked at it for a while, his eyes gradually widened:
"...Really not...but what does this mean?"
The villagers looked at each other in bewilderment. Most people in this small place had never seen a murder in their lives and had no idea what was going on.
"What else can it mean?" Nan Zheng suddenly understood and shouted, "When a knife pierces a living person's heart, how can it not bleed?"
"It was clear that this old man was stabbed in the heart a while after he died!"
"In other words, this knife wasn't the murder weapon at all. How can we conclude that the owner of the knife is the murderer?"
Lu Guangzu and the villagers all showed expressions of sudden enlightenment.
“That’s true!”
"There's not even a drop of blood oozing out of the chest. Sure enough, the knife isn't the murder weapon!"
"But if that's the case, then how did Uncle Hai die?"
"Putting aside other things, if Lu Er really killed someone, the person would have been dead. There's no way he would have used his own knife to stab him again and then stayed at the scene, right? This is clearly a frame-up!"
"That's right! Then the person who framed me must be the murderer... Oh, how immoral! He killed someone and then put the blame on someone else. If this case isn't solved, we'll have to live in fear every day..."
The more they talked, the more worried they became. Lu Guangzu's face also turned pale. He bowed deeply to Xiao Changheng and said:
"Lord Regent, please find the real culprit and punish him severely! Otherwise, everyone in this village will be in panic!"
Xiao Changheng's eyes had been following Yun Qingqing's every move. Hearing this, he said calmly:
"I'm afraid only the princess has the final say on this matter. Let's see what she says."
He had realized from Yun Qingqing's attitude that this was not an ordinary homicide case.
Yun Qingqing nodded, looked at Lu Hai's corpse and said coldly:
"Let's put the cause of this man's death aside for now. The real culprit who stabbed him in the back to cover up his tracks and try to frame him is right here in this courtyard!"
The villagers held their breath and looked at each other in suspicion.
Yun Qingqing pointed at Luda:
"It's you!"
Lu Da was so startled that he almost jumped up and exclaimed:
"Your Highness, please don't accuse me like this! I've always been a decent person and have never done anything like this! Besides, what good can I gain from doing this?"
Yun Qingqing looked at him coldly:
"Let's not even talk about what benefits you can gain from doing this. You are also responsible for the murder of Lu Hai. If you have time to quibble, you might as well worry about yourself first!"
Luda, who was originally nervous, looked confused after hearing her words, but then he calmed down.
This princess was talking incoherently and didn't seem to know the truth at all. It seemed like she was just deceiving him.
In this case, I must deny it to the death!
Thinking of this, Luda said innocently:
"I don't know what the princess means. Even if you are the princess, if you insist on accusing me of such a terrible thing, you must provide evidence!"
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