When deep night arrived!

Li Mingzhou avoided everyone, carrying something wrapped in black cloth, and quietly left through the back gate of the Li residence.

He departed from within Yuzhou City and went to a tall mountain. After walking for nearly an hour, he finally stopped before a gravestone.

On the gravestone before him was written the name of the late Master Chang—Chang Shiliang.

Li Mingzhou directly threw the bundle he had brought onto the ground, where it clattered to reveal several iron shovels and some small tools.

He kicked over the gravestone with one foot, then picked up a large iron shovel and began to dig.

An hour later, he finally exposed the coffin buried in the earth!

His eyes narrowed slightly as he wiped the heavy sweat from his forehead. His face grew somber, and he sighed, gazing at that coffin.

He said, “Third Brother, forgive me. I must do this. Otherwise, they will find evidence, so I cannot leave your corpse behind.”

His eyes were full of grief!

And helplessness!

He clapped his hands together, tossed the iron shovel aside, bent down, hooked his hands under the coffin lid, and then lifted with force.

Bang!

The coffin lid flipped to one side.

A cloud of dust flew up!

It took great effort.

Then he looked inside the coffin, only to discover in shock—

Inside, it was completely empty!

There was no trace of Master Chang’s corpse at all.

“How can this be?” Astonishment!

Suddenly—

Flickering flames gradually illuminated the area, accompanied by chaotic footsteps that surrounded him and the entire burial ground.

Li Mingzhou’s eyes filled with terror as he swept his gaze around, only to discover that the people surrounding him with torches were all from the yamen.

At that moment, he realized he had fallen into a trap.

The crowd then parted to make way, and Fang Mingsan, Jingrong, and Ji Yunshu and others walked forward.

Fang Mingsan looked at him sternly and waved his hand. “Men, arrest Li Mingzhou and take him to the yamen for trial.”

“Yes!”

Several constables stepped forward and seized him.

Li Mingzhou struggled, resisting. “What are you doing? Why are you arresting me?”

“Why arrest you? You killed three people, and now you’re attempting to dig up corpses and destroy evidence. If we don’t arrest you, who should we arrest?”

“I didn’t kill anyone.”

“If you didn’t kill anyone, why did you come here?”

“I…”

His face turned ashen, unable to explain!

Fang Mingsan said, “If you can’t explain it clearly, then explain it at the yamen.”

“I…”

At this moment, Jingrong stepped forward and said to Li Mingzhou, “Actually, the two people outside your residence today were arranged by this prince. You must have heard their conversation and worried that the yamen would find evidence and discover you were the murderer, so you came here in the dead of night planning to destroy the evidence. But all of this was merely bait to lure a big fish like you to take the hook.”

Li Mingzhou said nothing, knowing he had no way out.

Soon, Li Mingzhou was brought back to the yamen.

He was forced to kneel on the ground.

Fang Mingsan grabbed the gavel and slammed it forcefully on the table with a “bang”!

“Li Mingzhou, confess truthfully at once. Why did you kill those people?”

“Li did not kill anyone.”

“This official already knows that you and those three deceased were leaders of the Liu Gang back in the day. You all bear the same tattoo. Since you knew them, why didn’t you say so yesterday? Moreover, the bracelet worn by Miss Yu Yin of Chang’an Office clearly has your name, Li Mingzhou, engraved on it. You used Yu Yin to first frighten those three by pretending to be a ghost, then you killed them and pinned the matter on supernatural forces.”

To this, Li Mingzhou smiled.

“Magistrate Fang, I did not kill those people. So what if I knew them? So what if I went to dig up corpses tonight? That still doesn’t prove I’m the murderer.”

“You still won’t tell the truth?”

“Li did not kill anyone, so what truth is there to tell?”

A standoff!

Li Mingzhou’s attitude was firm, and he refused to admit anything.

Fang Mingsan had no recourse and glanced at Ji Yunshu.

Seeking help!

Ji Yunshu stepped forward, her tone gentle. “Master Chang died seven days ago. Seven days ago, you were originally away, but that very night—the night Master Chang met his fate—you returned.”

Ah!

Li Mingzhou denied it. “I did not.”

“I questioned the old man who keeps watch at the city gate. He personally witnessed you hurrying back to Yuzhou City, heading not toward the Li residence, but in the direction of the Chang residence. About two hours later, at the hour of the rat, he saw you hurrying out of the city again. The entire sequence coincides perfectly with Master Chang’s time of death. If you wish to argue, we can certainly summon that old man to confront you face to face. Additionally, the murderer wore shoes smaller than Master Chang’s to hang him from the tree.”

As she spoke, Ji Yunshu looked at his feet. “And Master Li, your feet happen to be smaller than Master Chang’s. Of course, what’s even more coincidental is that when you learned I would examine the corpse early tomorrow morning, and that re-examining the body would reveal who the murderer was, you became nervous and abandoned your plan to leave Yuzhou City. Instead, you went overnight to dig up the grave, wanting to destroy the evidence. Is that not correct?”

Although she had no concrete evidence, she had analyzed everything piece by piece.

If things were as she described, then Li Mingzhou was almost certainly the murderer.

But unexpectedly—

Li Mingzhou smiled and looked at her. “Master Ji’s words are flawless. Li admires you. However, you miscalculated. I didn’t kill anyone. The reason I returned that night was because I had left my account books and ledgers at home, and I needed them the next day, so I rushed back overnight. I didn’t go to the Li residence because the account books and ledgers were kept at my jade shop. The shop assistant on duty that night can testify to this. As for what you said about small feet, there are plenty of people in this world with feet smaller than Master Chang’s. Are they all murderers?”

“Then why did you go to dig up the corpse?”

Li Mingzhou said nothing!

“Since you insist that you didn’t kill anyone, what was your reason for digging up the corpse? There must be some secret between you and Miss Yu Yin, and that secret must be related to these three cases.”

Still, he said nothing!

Fang Mingsan couldn’t bear it anymore and thundered, “If you won’t speak, this official will have you beaten until you do.”

Just as he was about to order men to drag him away for flogging, Ji Yunshu stopped him. She crouched before Li Mingzhou, her line of sight level with his, and her gaze slowly shifted to the embroidered pattern at the collar of his robe.

Her eyes narrowed. “This flower should have been personally embroidered, shouldn’t it? Every stitch and thread, extremely exquisite.”

Li Mingzhou’s expression wavered slightly as he looked away, no longer meeting her gaze.

The corners of Ji Yunshu’s lips curved upward. “I’ve seen this same embroidery technique on Miss Yu Yin’s gauze. The pattern is identical to the one on Master Li’s collar.”

At that moment, Li Mingzhou grew tense.

And Ji Yunshu saw clearly every change in his expression.

“It doesn’t matter if Master Li won’t speak. At this moment, Miss Yu Yin is still in the prison cell. After all, she’s just a woman. If we subject her to harsh interrogation, who knows whether she could endure it?”

“What are you planning to do?”

“Since we can’t pry open Master Li’s mouth, we might as well go and question Miss Yu Yin.”

“You…”

Li Mingzhou became agitated and reached out to grab her.

But before his hand even made contact, Jingrong kicked him away with one foot.

“Li Mingzhou, this prince doesn’t have Master Ji’s good temperament. If you still won’t speak, not only you, but Yu Yin will accompany you to your grave.”

The mention of Yu Yin made him so agitated.

Clearly, Miss Yu Yin was precisely his weakness!