As expected, Zhu Yan nodded repeatedly and asked anxiously, “Tell me quickly, I can’t hold on much longer.”
“From now on, no matter how busy you are with cases, you must remember to cook for me. Moreover, you must dine with me to avoid incidents like today from happening again.”
Shen Du’s words left Zhu Yan completely baffled. Cooking for him every day and dining together – wasn’t this bullying her?
“Do you agree or not?” Shen Du didn’t think too much about it, just stating his terms clearly.
Zhu Yan had no choice but to nod in agreement. She quickly snatched the antidote from Shen Du’s hand and took it immediately.
Shen Du poured a cup of tea for her and placed it in front of her, sighing slightly, “Not only are you ungrateful, but you’re also ruthless enough to scheme against yourself. It’s truly admirable.”
After taking the antidote, Zhu Yan finally felt some relief. She merely rolled her eyes at Shen Du’s words, not bothering to respond.
After resting for a night, Zhu Yan fully regained her energy.
After breakfast, she threw herself back into the case, recalling her master’s words and taking out her notebook to connect all the clues.
However, everything remained unchanged.
Shen Du walked in from outside and, seeing Zhu Yan organizing the case again, asked, “You’re from the Ministry of Justice. Do you know about Ji Fangming’s history?”
Zhu Yan frowned and shook her head, “Not really. Have you discovered something?”
Shen Du also furrowed his brow, “Ji Fangming’s history is too clean. There must be something suspicious about it.”
Zhu Yan seemed to have an epiphany from this and quickly began reorganizing the clues in her notebook. The obvious clues all led to dead ends.
But the clues in the blind spots gave her some unexpected discoveries.
Just as she was about to share her findings with Shen Du, Jing Lin hurriedly came to report, “Grand Coordinator, County Magistrate Chen’s house is on fire.”
“What?”
Both of them were surprised and quickly led people to the scene.
When they arrived, the fire had already been brought under control.
But Chen Shoujie was tied up like a zongzi and suspended from the eaves, with some faint charcoal fires underneath him.
“Sir,” the Imperial Guard brothers quickly came forward, “When our men arrived, it was already like this. We didn’t dare disturb the scene and could only wait for your decision, sir.”
Shen Du nodded slightly, while Zhu Yan beside him sighed at their loyalty and intelligence.
Looking at Chen Shoujie’s condition, this scene seemed familiar.
Zhu Yan suddenly remembered what happened in Furong Garden. At that time, the Third Sister’s husband and the Third Sister were also tied up and hung high, with a pile of charcoal burning underneath.
This punishment was extremely cruel. What kind of person would think of using such a method to torture people?
Shen Du had people bring Chen Shoujie down, and they began to carefully investigate the room.
After a thorough investigation, they found nothing, which puzzled Zhu Yan, “The culprit must have left clues when committing the crime. Could it be that our investigation wasn’t thorough enough?”
Zhu Yan felt somewhat guilty. She walked to the door and glanced at the crowd of onlookers outside.
With just one look, she suddenly noticed a panicked figure in the crowd, seemingly preparing to flee.
“Who’s that? Why are you running?” Zhu Yan exclaimed, and the Imperial Guard brothers quickly moved forward to catch the person trying to escape.
Shen Du also strode out quickly. When they saw who had been caught, Zhu Yan’s expression was one of surprise, “It’s you?”
Ji Fangming remained silent, looking at Shen Du and Zhu Yan with extremely resentful eyes.
“Why so fierce? Killing people and setting fires, yet still shamelessly taking a government salary. I’ve never seen such a brazen person,” Zhu Yan said, waving her hand to have the Imperial Guard brothers take him away.
They thought they had caught the culprit and everyone could finally relax, but unexpectedly, on the day of Ji Fangming’s sentencing, another incident occurred.
At the Ministry of Justice’s main hall.
All relevant personnel were present to witness. Shen Du sat solemnly on the main seat, holding the judge’s mallet. He struck the table heavily, the echo lingering.
“With both the person and evidence at hand, what else do you have to say?” Shen Du inquired.
Ji Fangming remained silent throughout, his demeanor arrogant and self-righteous.
This scene greatly frustrated Zhu Yan. She stepped forward and asked, “Even at this point, you still won’t confess? If it wasn’t you, why were you at the scene, and why did you run when you saw me? You must have done something you’re guilty about.”
Just as Ji Fangming was about to speak, a yamen runner suddenly rushed in, bowing to report, “Sir, terrible news! Someone just reported that another house is on fire, and it belongs to a current official. Moreover, that official has mysteriously disappeared.”
“What?” Everyone present was shocked.
The culprit was right in front of them, yet another crime had occurred. Could it be that there was more than one perpetrator?
“What’s going on here?” Zhu Yan glared accusingly at Ji Fangming.
At this moment, Ji Fangming’s demeanor suddenly changed. He let out a cold laugh and looked at Zhu Yan with an extremely arrogant attitude, “At this point, you’re still asking me what’s going on? Haven’t you figured it out? I’m not the culprit at all. You’ve arrested the wrong person.”
“Then why were you at the crime scene?” Zhu Yan pressed.
“I was just following the villagers to see what was happening. Is that a crime?”
“Why did you run when you saw me?”
“I suddenly remembered I had something to deal with at home, so I wanted to leave. I didn’t expect you to mistake it for fear of you. How ridiculous.”
“You!” Zhu Yan was so angry she didn’t know how to retort to Ji Fangming.
Ji Fangming laughed coldly again, looking at everyone present with an even more arrogant attitude. He stood up and said, “Now that the truth has come to light, do you still want to charge me? Madam Zhu, I was right under your nose, yet another case occurred. How can you convict me, and how will you save that missing official?”
“That’s none of your concern. We have our methods,” Zhu Yan said coldly. “You just need to confess truthfully to your crimes.”
“I’ve said all I need to say. You have no evidence to prove I’m the culprit. Now, what you need to do is release me without charge!”
Ji Fangming’s attitude was extremely arrogant, completely disregarding everyone present and ignoring Shen Du’s status.
“Bang!”
The judge’s mallet struck the table again, the sound making people’s hearts tremble.
The White King of Hell was angry. Everyone present felt an endless chill. This couldn’t be good.
Ji Fangming looked at Shen Du with a determined face, his eyes showing no fear, “If the Grand Coordinator wants to intimidate people with his aura, I advise you to calm down. Your tactics won’t work on me.”
Shen Du snorted coldly, “I, Shen Du, have never relied on mere words when handling matters. Guards, take this person away and apply severe torture. Under heavy punishment, I don’t believe he still won’t confess.”
“Is the Grand Coordinator trying to extract a false confession?” Fear flashed in Ji Fangming’s eyes, and everyone looked at Shen Du with shocked expressions.