County government office
Bai Bai stared at Zhou Tu Fu's corpse again and again.
"Is he Butcher Zhou?"
Huo Yan picked at his ear and said casually, "Hmm, plump and round, that's definitely him."
"Then how did he die?"
According to Ruan Ruan's description, he was fine when she was kicked out, so how could he have been killed so suddenly?
Niu Mang rubbed his chin. "Could it be related to Su Ruanruan?"
Bai Bai glanced at him, somewhat displeased, and said, "Nonsense, how could it have anything to do with her? She's just a weak woman, how could she possibly kill him?"
"Besides, none of you saw how badly Miss Ruan... Su was injured. Her appearance was heartbreaking."
"If you ask me, this butcher deserved to die, and everyone who killed him did so for the good of the people..."
Bai Bai was filled with righteous indignation, and the clerk next to him coughed a few times before he stopped talking.
Then they asked the coroner, "When was he murdered?"
The coroner said, "According to my judgment, he was probably murdered around 7:00 AM. The murder weapon that struck him in the chest was a knife from his slaughterhouse."
After pondering for a moment, Bai Bai ordered the yamen runners to bring back all those associated with Butcher Zhou.
Tofu Shop
The men who had been sent out rushed back.
"Manager, that young master Mu Bai went straight to the brokerage and took people home to look at houses."
"After he left, I chased after him and asked the broker, only to find out that he was going to sell the house."
Ziwu exclaimed in surprise, "He actually sold the house?!"
He was indeed devoted in love.
How much silver are you planning to sell it for?
"One hundred taels, waiter."
Ziwu went back to the accounting office to get the silver notes. "Go to the brokerage and tell them I want this house. Take this hundred taels back to get the deed."
She placed another tael of silver in the shop assistant's palm. "This is the commission. Tell the brokers not to tell anyone that I bought it, especially not to let Mu Bai know."
"But I heard from the broker that Young Master Mu urgently needs money. They are after Young Master Mu's status as a scholar and want to keep him to sell for a high price."
Ziwu laughed and said, "Then I'll give him five taels of commission at most. One shouldn't be too greedy."
"You should try to coax them with sweet words. One hundred taels of silver is the most you can offer. If the broker refuses to lower the price and tries to use Mu Bai's status as a gimmick to raise the price, tell him that I have a way to make sure they can't sell it. Even if they do sell it to someone else, I will make sure they can't live in peace."
“Tell him that we will buy people again in the future, so why ruin a long-term relationship for the sake of one deal?”
"In short, we must get our hands on the property deed."
Not long after the waiter left, Mu Bai arrived in a great hurry with the female physician.
He was also holding a brocade box in his hands, which presumably contained the precious ginseng.
Ziwu thought to herself: My lady, I was just testing whether Mubai was truly someone I could entrust my life to. Please don't blame me when you wake up.
One hour later
Just as Huo Yan had finished feeding Su Ruanruan the tonic and the secret medicine, he arrived with his men.
"Oh, Officer Huo, what brings you here?"
Ziwu hurriedly went to greet her.
"We are taking Su Ruanruan back to the county government for trial."
Mu Bai: "What court hearing? Ruan Ruan hasn't woken up yet, what are you trying to do? Do you think... that person was killed by Ruan Ruan? That's absurd!"
Huo Yan glanced at him briefly but said nothing.
"Officer Huo, what exactly happened? My little helper saw Lord Bai before she fainted, and Lord Bai promised her that he wouldn't make a fuss for the sake of her reputation," Zi Wu said.
"Shopkeeper, you may not know this, but Lord Bai originally didn't want to make a fuss about Miss Su's reputation. However, for some reason, the rumors spread like wildfire throughout the streets and alleys. They said that Su Ruanruan and Butcher Zhou spent the night together, and it got more and more outrageous, even saying that Su Ruanruan killed Butcher Zhou for money. There was no other way, so Lord Bai had to hold court that very night to shut everyone up," Jin Yu explained.
He glanced at Huo Yan, then looked at Mu Bai, "Young Master Mu wouldn't want Miss Su to be convicted of murder, would he?"
Mu Bai: "Okay, then I'll go with you."
Ziwu finally understood why her master wouldn't let her help change her dirty, smelly clothes.
She must have anticipated that they would end up in court.
Sigh, it's quite heartbreaking.
When several constables carried Su Ruanruan out of the room, the three Huo brothers were dumbfounded.
They hadn't expected Su Ruanruan to be so badly injured; her breathing was shallow, as if she were clinging to her last breath.
When they arrived at the yamen, the area outside the hall was already crowded with people.
A group of people were kneeling on the ground.
Mu Bai already held official rank, so he naturally didn't need to kneel.
Bai Bai sat under the bright mirror and slammed the gavel.
The crowd, which had been making a racket just moments before, immediately fell silent.
"Now everyone involved in this case has arrived. I will ask questions, and those who ask will answer. Whoever is called upon will speak. No noise is allowed!"
The crowd responded, "Yes."
"Bring up Zhou the butcher's body."
The bailiffs carried him up and removed the white cloth covering him.
Everyone who saw his miserable state sighed with pity.
Looking at his wide-open eyes, bloodshot and with an expression of unresolved death, it was terrifying, and my body trembled.
That's terrifying.
Bai Bai asked, "Coroner, based on your examination, when was Butcher Zhou murdered this year?"
The coroner stepped forward and reported, "Your Honor, the deceased was murdered around 7:00 AM. He was found in a bathtub filled with water. The tendons in his hands and feet had been severed. The fatal wound was a stab wound to the heart."
He then pointed to the knife stuck in Butcher Zhou's body, "I have examined it, and this knife is the one that was missing from his slaughterhouse."
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